Leadership Flashcards
definition of leadership
art of motivating a group to achieve a shared goal while exercising managerial authority
early leadership theories
1) leadership traits
2) leadership behaviours - behaviours that differentiate effective leaders from non-effective ones. Includes Iowa; Ohio; Michigan; Managerial Grid
leadership traits
- early studies focused on finding traits that would differentiate leaders; not successful
- later studies found traits linked to the act of leadership instead of the person
- emphasis on situational factors and interactions between leader and group increased - studying how leaders BEHAVED
traits:
1) drive
2) desire to lead
3) honesty and integrity
4) self-confidence
5) intelligence
6) job-relevant knowledge
7) extraversion
8) proneness to guilt
9) emotional intelligence
10) conscientiousness
UoIowa studies
- tested 3 leadership styles:
1) autocratic - dictates work methods, unilateral decisions and limits employee participation
2) democratic - involves employees in decision making, delegates, gives feedback to coach them
3) laissez-faire - lets group make decisions and complete work however they see fit
1) each style most appropriate in different situations, e.g. ____
2) no consistent effect of each style on performance levels, but democratic led to generally more employee satisfaction than autocratic
Ohio State Studies
2 dimensions of leader behaviour:
1) initiating structure - extent to which leader defines their role and the roles of group members in meeting goals, including organising work, work relationships and goals
2) consideration - extent to whcih leader has work relationships characterised by mutual trust and respect for group members’ ideas, feelings and personal development - approachable and sees all as equals
3) high-high leaders (both IS and consideration) sometimes but not always achieved high group performance and satisfaction
managerial grid
two-dimensions: concern for people (vertical) and concern for production (horizontal) and ranked leader’s use of these behaviours on a scale from 1-9 (1 is highest)
5 named mgmt styles:
1) impoverished (1,1)
2) task (9,1)
3) middle-of-the-road (5,5)
4) country club (1,9)
5) team (9,9)
however, does not say anything about what makes a leader effective - only categorises them
contingency theories of leadership
1) Fiedler model
2) Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT)
3) Path-goal model
fiedler model
proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper match between a leader’s style, and the degree to which the situation allows leader to control and influence it
1) define leadership styles using LPCq (high or low LPC = relationship or task oriented)
2) define types of situations ITO 3 variables - leader-member relations, task structure and position power
3) identify appropriate combos of style and situation (8 categories of situation after combining situational variables)
assumes that leadership style is fixed and stable regardless of the situation, so to improve effectiveness:
1) bring in new leader whose style matches situation
2) change situation to fit leader ITO 3 situational factors
explain the situational factors in leader effectivness and the 8 situational categories
1) leader-member relations: degree of confidence, trust and respect employees have for their leader (rated good or poor)
2) task structure - degree of formalisation of job tasks (high or low)
3) position power - degree of influence leader has over activities like hiring/firing, discipline, promotions and salary decisions (high or low)
each leadership situation was evaluated ITO these 3 variables, which, when combind, produced 8 possible situations that were either favourable or unfavourable for the leader
1) high favourable - 1, 2 3
2) moderately favourable - 4, 5, 6
3) highly unfavourable - 7, 8
task oriented leader performed better in very favourable or very unfavourable while RS oriented in moderately favourable
explain the LPCq
- 18 pairs of contrasting adjectives
- think of least-liked coworker and rate on scale of 1-8 for each pair where 8 was the positive adjective
- high LPC score (rated coworker relatively positively) meant relationship-oriented - interested in good personal relationships
- low LPC score - task oriented; interested in productivity
criticisms of fiedler’s model
1) unrealistic to assume person can’t adapt leader style to situation
2) impractical and hard to assess situation variables, match leader styles and situations esp for short-term and simple group projects where costs outweigh benefits
hersey and blanchard SLT
leadership contingency theory that focuses on readiness of FOLLOWERS and proposes that leaders can compensate for ability and motivational limitations in them - importance since leader effectiveness ultimately depends on whether followers accept or reject them
readiness defined as extent to which people are willing and able to do a certain task
2 dimensions: task and relationship behaviours THEN consider each as either high or low and combine in 4 specific leader styles:
1) telling - HT, LR
2) selling - HT, HR
3) participating - LT, HR
4) delegating - LT, LR
4 Stages of follower readiness:
R1 - unable and unwilling to take responsibility -
R2 - unable but willing
R3 - able but unwilling
R4 - able and willing
how do the levels of follower readiness determine the kind of leadership style to be used?
as followers reach higher levels of readiness, leader should reduce control over activities AND relationship behavours
R1 - telling
R2 - selling to get followers to buy into leader’s desires
R3 - participating
R4 - delegating - doesn’t need to do much
path-goal model
leader’s job is to assist followers in attaining their work goals by removing roadblocks, providing direction or support and ensure their goals are compatible with those of the org
4 leadership behaviours:
1) directive - lets them know what is expected of them, and gives specific guidance on how to accomplish tasks
2) supportive - friendly and shows concerns for needs of follower
3) participative - uses group suggestions before making decisions
4) achievement-oriented - sets challenging goals and expects followers to perform at highest level
unlike Fiedler’s model, leaders are flexible and can show any or all of these styles depending on situation
2 types of situational variables moderate leadership behaviour-outcome relationship, and leader’s behaviour will be ineffective if redundant with structure of environment or incongruent with follower characteristics
1) environmental - e.g. task structure, formal authority system, work group
2) follower - determine how the leader behaviour and environment will be interpreted e.g. locus of control, experience, perceived ability
read examples
contemporary views of leadership
1) leader-member exchange (LMX) theory
2) charismatic leadership
3) transformational-transactional
4) authentic
5) ethical
6) servant
7) followership
