Leader

LEADERSHIP Leadership is the art of inspiring subordinates to perform their duties willingly, competently and enthusiastically. A leader is one who by example and talent, plays a directing role and wields commanding influence over others. By proper definition, leadership is the use of non-coercive influence to shape the groups or organization's goals, motivate behavior toward the achievement of those goals, and help define group and organization culture. EXAMPLE: One of the most interesting observations of life is that all animals that live in groups have leaders. All kind of creature not just humans have leaders. Lions, elephants, baboons, insects, dogs, fish and birds have leaders. Their leader makes most of the decisions and gets his choice of food and physical place. When the group is threatened, the leader plans the defense. Or if an attack is to be made on another group, the leader organizes it. All human groups also have a leader. Such diverse organizations as street gangs, college classes, parent-teacher associations, political parties and prison in-mates who emerges as the final authority to what to do. Often the leader has no title but who the person is, nevertheless is clear. In the recent literature of leadership (that is over the last 80 years or so) there have been four main ‘generations’ of theory: • • • •

Trait theories. Behavioral theories. Contingency theories. Contemporary theories.

TRAIT THEORIES: The first organized approach to studying leadership was to analyze the personal, psychological and physical traits of strong leaders. The underlying assumption of the trait approach was that there existed some basic trait or set of traits that differentiated leaders from non-leaders. If

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those traits could be defined, potential leaders could be identified. But despite the best of the efforts of researchers, it proved to be impossible to identify a set of traits that would always differentiate a leader from a nonleader. As soon as we study the lives of people who have been labelled as great or effective leaders, it becomes clear that they have very different qualities. We only have to think of political figures like Nelson Mandela, Mao Zedong and Pervez Musharraf to confirm this. However, later attempts to identify traits consistently associated with leadership were more successful. Six traits associated with effective leadership included drive, the desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, intelligence and job-relevant knowledge.

BEHAVIORAL THEORIES: As the early researchers ran out of steam in their search for traits, they turned to what leaders did - how they behaved (especially towards followers). They moved from leaders to leadership - and this became the dominant way of approaching leadership within organizations in the 1950s and early 1960s. Different patterns of behavior were grouped together and labeled as styles. UNIVERSITY OF LOWA: The University of Lowa Studies explored three leadership styles. The autocratic style described a leader who typically tended to centralize authority, dictate work methods, make unilateral decisions, and limit employee participation. The democratic style described a leader who tended to involve employees in decision making, delegate authority, and encourage participation in deciding work methods and goals, and use feedback as an opportunity for coaching employees. Finally, the laissez-faire style leader generally gave the group complete freedom to make decisions and complete work in whatever way it saw fit.

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THE OHIO STATE STUDIES: The extensive questionnaire surveys conducted during the Ohio State studies suggested that there are two basic leader behaviors or styles. The first was called initiating-structure behavior. When using this behavior, the leader clearly defines the leader-subordinate role so that everyone knows what is expected, establishes formal lines of communication, and determines how tasks will be performed. The second leadership identified is consideration behavior. In this instance, the leader shows concern for sub-ordinates and attempts to establish a friendly and supportive climate. THE MICHIGAN STUDIES: The Michigan studies also identified two basic forms of leader behavior. The first was called job-centered leader behavior. When using this behavior, the leader pays close attention to subordinates' work, explains work procedures, and is keenly interested in performance. The second behavior identified in this research was employeecentered leader behavior. In this case, the leader is interested in developing a cohesive work group and ensuring that employees are satisfied with their jobs. Thus, the leader's primary concern is the welfare of subordinates. THE MANAGERIAL GRID: Perhaps the most famous behavior approach is Managerial Grid used the behavioral dimension based on two forms of leader behavior: 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).

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The impoverished style (1,1) In this style, managers have low concern for both people and production. Managers use this style to avoid getting into trouble. The main concern for the manager is not to be held responsible for any mistakes, which results in less innovative decisions. The Country Club Style (1,9) This style has a high concern for people and a low concern for production. Managers using this style pay much attention to the security and comfort of the employees, in hopes that this would increase performance. The resulting atmosphere is usually friendly, but not necessarily that productive. The Produce or Perish Style (9,1) With a high concern for production, and a low concern for people, managers using this style find employee needs unimportant; they provide their employees with money and expect performance back. Managers using this style also pressure their employees through rules and punishments to achieve the company goals. The Middle-of-the-road Style (5,5) Managers using this style try to balance between company goals and workers' needs. By giving some concern to both people and production, managers who use this style hope to achieve acceptable performance. The Team Style (9,9) In this style, high concern is paid both to people and production. Managers choosing to use this style encourage teamwork and

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commitment among employees. This method relies heavily on making employees feel as a constructive part of the company.

CONTIGENCY THEORIES: Researchers began to turn to the contexts in which leadership is exercised - and the idea that what is needed changes from situation to situation. This placed a premium on people who were able to develop an ability to work in different ways, and could change their style to suit the situation. THE FIEDLER MODEL: Fred E. Fiedler argued that effectiveness depends on two interacting factors: leadership style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control and influence. Three things are important here: •

The relationship between the leaders and followers: If leaders are liked and respected they are more likely to have the support of others.

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The structure of the task: If the task is clearly spelled out as to goals, methods and standards of performance then it are more likely that leaders will be able to exert influence.

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Position power: If an organization or group confers powers on the leader for the purpose of getting the job done, then this may well increase the influence of the leader.

SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY: It is a contingency theory that focuses on followers' readiness. Readiness refers to the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task. There are four stages of readiness: able and willing, able and unwilling, unable and willing and unable and unwilling. THE PATH-GOAL THEORY: The path-goal theory suggests that the primary functions of a leader are to make valued or desired rewards available the workplace and 5

to clarify for the subordinate the kinds of behavior that will lead to goal accomplishment and valued rewards-that is, the leader should clarify the paths to goal attainment. It identifies four kinds of leader behavior. First is directive leader behavior - letting subordinates know what is expected of them, giving guidance and direction, and scheduling work. Second is supportive leader behavior - being friendly and approachable, showing concern for subordinate welfare, and treating members as equals. Third is participative leader behavior - consulting subordinates, soliciting suggestions, and allowing participation in decision making. Fourth is achievement-oriented behavior - setting challenging goals, expecting subordinates to perform at high levels, encouraging subordinates and showing confidence in subordinates' abilities.

CONTEMPORARY THEORIES: Because of its importance to organizational effectiveness, leadership continues to be focus of a great deal of research and theory building. So there are also three contemporary approaches to leadership. TRANSACTIONAL-TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP: Leaders who had been discussed so far were transactional leaders-who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. Another type is transformational leaders-who provide individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation and posses' charisma. They are strongly correlated with lower turnover rates, higher productivity and higher employee satisfaction. CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP: A charismatic leader is an enthusiastic and self-confident leader whose personality and actions influence people to behave in certain ways.

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TEAM LEADERSHIP: Leadership is increasingly taking place within a team context. The role of team leader is different from the traditional leadership role. The challenge for most managers is learning how to become an effective team leader. There are four basic team leadership roles: team leaders are liaisons with external constituencies, troubleshooters, conflict managers and coaches.

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