Leadership

Leadership Mr. Dipjoy Das

Centre for Management Studies Dibrugarh University 1

DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP 

A leader may be defined as a person who establishes vision, sets goals, motivates people and obtains their commitment to achieve the goals and realize the vision.

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Leadership and management are quite different.

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leaders take a personal and active interest in achieving goals whereas managers tend to play a relatively passive role in accomplishing goals.

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Managers need power to be entrusted to them by the organization to deal with people. Leaders have power within themselves and the required drive to lead people and motivate them to work enthusiastically toward achieving objectives. 2 (Contd.)

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If managers are required to work alone without assistance from people they become anxious and tense. However, leaders can act confidently even if they need to work independently.

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Managers limit their interaction with people to the minimum extent required to carry out their managerial responsibilities. Leaders interact with people frequently and in a more natural way. In the process, they inspire people, motivate them and lead them. 3

TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS 

That cognitive and psychological factors like intelligence, ambition and aggressiveness are the traits commonly found in leaders. However, others believed that physical characteristics like height (more then average), large body structure and personal attractiveness are important traits of leaders.

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Certain factors that differentiate leaders from non-leaders. Some of these include initiative, desire to lead, integrity, self- confidence, analytical ability, and knowledge of the specific company, industry or technology.

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LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR VS TRAITS 

Successful leadership depends more on appropriate behavior and actions and less on personality traits.

LEADERSHIP SKILLS  Technical Skills  Human Skills  Conceptual Skills 5

Leadership Skills Required at Different Organizational Levels Organizational Levels

Conceptual

Top Human

Middle Supervisor Technical

Knowledge & Skills required 6

LEADERSHIP THEORIES Trait Theories 

One trait theory is the “great person” theory of leadership. According to this theory leadership traits can be acquired with training and experience. They may not be inborn.

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Application of trait theory to organizational leadership yielded even more confusing results. Researchers could not support the theory with the traits observed in successful leaders.

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Some general characteristics found in leaders are ambition, high levels of energy, desire to lead, honesty, integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, 7 and job-relevant knowledge.

Behavioral Theories  There are four import behavioral theories – the Ohio State Studies, the University of Michigan Studies, the Management Grid and the Scandinavian Studies – that have sought to identify the behavior of leaders. Initiating Structure 

It refers to an individual’s ability to define his own as well as the subordinates’ tasks and get these tasks accomplished on time. The people who score high on this dimension will put pressure on their subordinates to meet deadlines 8 and maintain certain standards of performance.

The Ohio state studies 

In 1945, researchers from different streams such as psychology, sociology and economics carried out the studies of leadership at Ohio State University. They used a specially developed questionnaire to find out the behavior of leaders across various groups and situations.

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They defined two dimensions – initiating structure and consideration. 9

Consideration 

This refers to the extent to which a leader cares for the subordinates, respects their ideas and feelings and establishes work relations which are characteristics by mutual trust and respect.

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The studies revealed that the people who scores high on both the dimensions initiating structure and consideration – were able to achieve higher levels of performance as well as job satisfaction compared to these who scored low on either one of the dimensions or both the dimensions.

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A “high-high” type of leadership yielded the best 10 results.

University of Michigan studies  Twelve high-low productivity pairs of section were selected and kept under observation at the Prudential Insurance Company.  Leadership behaviors could be categorized along two dimensions: employee-oriented and production-oriented.  Employee-oriented dimension emphasizes the importance of inter –personal relations. Leaders who score high on this dimension take a personal interest in their subordinates’ needs and accept individual differences among members. It was observed that the productive groups had employee oriented supervisors. 11 (Contd.)

 Leaders who are high on the productionoriented dimension are more concerned with tasks and goals. They consider employees to be means to achieve goals and pay little or no attention to any problems the employees may face. For them, employees are no different from machines.

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The Leadership Grid

(High) 1

1.9 Country Club Management Thoughtful attention to needs of people for satisfying relationships leads to a comfortable, friendly organization atmosphere and work tempo.

CONCERN FOR PEOPLE

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9,9 Team M.anagement Work accomplishment is from committed people; interdependence through a “common stake” in organization purpose leads to relationships of trust and respect.

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5,5 Middle of the Road Management

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Adequate organization performance is possible through balancing the necessity to get out work with maintaining morale of people at a satisfactory level.

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1.1 Impoverished Management

9.1 Authority-Compliance

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Exertion of minimum effort to get required work done is appropriate to sustain organization membership.

Effidiency in operations results from arranging conditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree.

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(LOW)

1 (LOW)

2

3

4 5 6 7 CONCERN FOR PRODUCTION

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913 (High)

The Managerial grid  Blake and Mouton developed a two – dimensional matrix of leadership styles.  The model consists of nine rows and columns.  The rows represent the leader’s concern for production, while the columns represent the concern for people.  With nine possible positions on each side, leaders can be located at one of a total of 81 position on this grid. (Contd.)

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Blake and Mouton found five intersection points in this model – 1,9; 1,1; 9,1; 5,5 and 9,9. People whose behavior falls into the 1,1 cell on the grid, called the impoverished style of leadership, exhibit no concern for people or for work. Hence, they often fail as leaders. People who follow the 1,9 style of leadership have high concern for people but low concern for production. This is referred to as the country club style of leadership. People who exhibit the 9,1 style of leadership have high concern for production and low concern for people. (Contd.) 15

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This is referred to as authoritarian style of leadership. People whose leadership style fall into the 9,9 cell show high concern for both people and production. This position on the grid is referred to as team management style of leadership.

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Blake and Mouton suggested that managers who practice a 9.9 style (team management) of leadership are more effective compared to the 9.1 style (authoritarian), or the 1,9 style (country club type). Leaders whose behavior falls into the 5,5 style are also considered to be fairly effective. 16

Scandinavian studies  Development oriented behavior.  Development oriented leaders experiment with new ideas and practices and embrace change.  Development –orientation is a significant aspect of effective leadership.  The study also found subordinates consider development-oriented leaders to be more competent that non-development oriented leaders. The subordinates of development oriented leaders also showed higher levels of job satisfaction. 17

Contingency Approaches to Leadership  Contingency theories of leadership postulate that leaders have to change their style depending on the situation they face.  A leader should carefully analyze the nature of the situation before deciding on the appropriate leadership to be adopted. Five contingency modes are discussed below. (Contd.)

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Fiedler’s contingency model  Leadership requirements depend on the situation the leader; and the choice of the most appropriate style of leadership depends on whether the overall situation is favorable or unfavorable to the leader. The favorability or unfavorability of a particular situation to a leader is analyzed based on the following parameters: a) Leader – Member relationships • This indicates the extent to which a leader is accepted by the subordinates. If a leader has friction with majority of his subordinates, then he scores low on his this dimension. (Contd.)

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b) Degree of task structure •

This refers to the degree to which the task on hand can be performed efficiently by following a particular method.

c) The leader’s position •

A leader has more power if he is in a position to decide the rewards and incentives for his followers.

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Hersey and Blanchard’s situational theory 

The maturity level of the subordinate plays a major role in influencing the leadership style of the superior.

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Leadership styles can be categorized into four types – telling selling participating and delegating.

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Leader- Member Exchange theory  Leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of subordinates, usually, early in their interaction. This usually happens due to the time constraints the leaders faces in interacting with all the subordinates. This small group of subordinates is referred to as the in-group while the rest are referred to as the out- group. The leaders thrust the subordinates, who belong to in group, give them more attention, interact with them frequently and offer them special privileges. The out-group people less of the leader’s time attention. Also, the interactions, between the leader and the out-group 22 are less frequent and purely formal.

Leadership-participation model 

The Leadership-participation model proposed by Vroom and Yetton is normative in that it provides a sequential set of rule that can be followed for ascertaining the type and amount of participation required in decision making in different situation.

Problem Attributes 

The leader should assess a situation in terms of its problem attributes.

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Decision-quality dimensions include cost considerations, information a availability, and nature of problem structure.

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Employee-acceptance can have dimension like need for commitment, their prior approval, congruence of their goals with that of the organization, and conflict 23 among the employees.

Leadership Styles: Once the leader identifies the nature of the problem, he can adopt one of the following five styles of leadership: •

Autocratic I (A-I)- Using the information available, the leader takes a decision on his own.

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Autocratic II (A-II) – The leader obtains relevant information from subordinates and then attempts to find the solution to the problem. (Contd.)

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Consultive I (C-I) - The leader explains the problem to concerned subordinates individually and invites their ideas and suggestions to solve the problem. However, he takes the final decision.

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Consultive II (C-II) - The leader meets a group of subordinates, discusses the problem with them and listens to their ideas and suggestions. Later, he may take a decision that may or may not in accordance with his subordinates’ suggestions.

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Group II (G-II) – After sharing the problem with the subordinates, the leader initiates a group discussion on alternative solution and moderates the discussion till the group reaches a consensus on the solution to be adopted. 25

Path – goal theory  The path-goals theory is a contingency model of leadership developed develop by Robert House.  According to the path-goal theory, the leader should provide required support and guidance to his to his followers and help them achieve organizational goals. He should also establish individual (or group) goals for employees that are compatible with the broad organizational goals. (Contd.) 26

Four types of leadership with the help of the path goal theory. They are: •

Participative leadership: The leader discusses problems with subordinates and seeks their suggestions before making a decision.

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Achievement-oriented leadership: The leader attempts to develop his subordinates by giving them challenging tasks and higher responsibilities, and encouraging them to perform at their best

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Directive leadership : the leader clearly tells his subordinates what is expected from them.

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Supportive leadership : The leader attempts to address the needs and problems of his subordinates. 27

LEADERSHIP STYLES Autocratic Leadership 

Leaders who adopt this style retain all the authority and decision making power. They do not consider employees’ suggestions options or views. They believe that they are more competent and intelligent then their subordinates.

Consultative leadership 

Consultative (or participative) leaders encourage to participate in decision making. The leader listens to subordinates’ ideas and opinions, but takes the final decision himself. The leader delegates some of his responsibilities to his subordinates and believe that they are capable of carrying out those 28 responsibilities.

Laissez Faire or – Subordinate – centered 

In this style, the leader completely delegates the responsibilities, and decision making power to the subordinates. The leader simply presents the task to the subordinates.

Bureaucratic Leadership 

Leaders set certain rigid rules and regulations and procedures. Both leaders and their subordinates obey these rules. The subordinates are thus obliged to carry out their tasks in a particular way along. 29

Manipulative Leadership 

In this style of leadership, leaders believe that employees should be manipulated to get them to behave in the way the leader wants them to behave. The leaders identify the needs and desires of employees and use this information against them to achieve their goals.

Expert Leadership 

In this leadership style, a person with a high level of knowledge and abilities lends the groups. 30

Likert’s Four Systems of Management System 1 Management : All the decision are made by the managers, and there is little employee participation. System 2 Management : The managers behave in a patronizing manner, they have confidence and trust in their subordinates. System 3 Management : Managers in this system do not have complete confidence and trust in their subordinates. Though they seek advice from subordinates, they retain the right to take the final decision. System 4 Management : Manager trust their subordinates completely and have confidence in their abilities. They always ask the opinions of their 31 subordinates and make use of their ideas.

ROLES AND ACTIVITIES OF MANAGERS Interpersonal role  In this role, the manager acts as a figurehead for the organization. He conducts talks with important clients and suppliers and makes formal announcements to the public on behalf of the organization.

Information role 

The monitor, the disseminator and the spokesperson. The managers constantly examines the environment (internal and external) to keep 32 himself updated on the latest information.

Decisional role  The managers initiates a change program or a project in the organization and acquires the resources needed for their implementation in his entrepreneur role.  Managers/leaders also play. The activities performed by managers can be placed under the following categories:

Communication : Traditional Management : Human Resource Management : Net working : 33

DETERMINANTS OF LEADERSHIP The effectiveness of an individual as a leader can be determined by two variables:

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The quality of subordinates/ followers

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The nature of the situation

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Quality of Subordinates 

The quality of subordinates is a primary indicator of effective leadership. An effective leader always builds a strong term consisting of people who are independent and self-motivated.

The Nature of the Situation 

Different individuals are effective in different situations. The situationist theory proposes that an individual who has the background and knowledge relevant to a given situation will come forward by himself to lead the group when that situation arises. 35

TASK OF A SUPERVISOR  Supervisors are lower managers who manage workers on the shop floor. In large organizations, there may be different levels of supervisors, i.e,first line supervisors second line supervisors and third line supervisors.

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EFFECTIVE SUPERVISORY PRACTICES 

Devote more time to planning and supportive functions

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Avoid close supervision

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Concern for employees

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Promote Group Cohesiveness.

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