Transcript Leadership - Wilderdom

PSYCHOLOGY 305 / 305G
Social Psychology
Leadership
Lecturer: James Neill
Overview
Questions
 Theories
 Issues
 Conclusions

Questions
What is leadership?
What is followership?
Is leadership the same as
management?
 What are the characteristics of
successful leaders?
 Do leaders show distinctive
patterns of behavior?
 What leadership styles are
there?
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Questions
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How does leaders’ behavior
vary with the situation?
What sources of power and
influence are used by leaders?
What are the effects of
different types of leadership?
Can we do without leadership?
How can leadership skills be
developed?
A Leadership Story
A group of workers and their leaders are set a task of
clearing a road through a dense jungle on a remote
island to get to the coast where an estuary provides a
perfect site for a port.
 The leaders organise the labour into efficient units and
monitor the distribution and use of capital assets –
progress is excellent. The leaders continue to monitor
and evaluate progress making adjustments along the
way to ensure the progress is maintained and efficiency
increased wherever possible.
 Then, one day amidst all the hustle and bustle and
activity, one person climbs up a nearby tree. The person
surveys the scene from the top of the tree.

A Leadership Story
And shouts down to the assembled group
below…
 “Wrong way!”

(Adapted from Stephen Covey (2004) “The Seven Habits
of Highly Effective People”.)
Leadership vs. Management
“Management is doing
things right, leadership is
doing the right things”
(Warren Bennis and Peter
Drucker)
LEADERS AND
MANAGERS
“Leaders . . .are often dramatic and unpredictable in style.
They tend to create an atmosphere of change, ferment
even chaos. They are often obsessed by their ideas,
which appear as visionary and consequently excite,
stimulate and drive other people to work hard to create
reality out of fantasy . . . Managers are typically hardworking, analytical, tolerant and fair-minded. They have a
strong sense of belonging to the organisation, and take
great pride in perpetuating and improving the status quo.”
(French, 1987,
p475)
Leaders Vs. Managers
Leaders
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Innovate
Develop
Inspire
Long-term view
Ask what and why
Originate
Challenge the status
quo
Do the right thing
Managers
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Administer
Maintain
Control
Short-term view
Ask how and when
Initiate
Accept the status quo
Do things right
Leadership vs Management
Leadership & management are distinct, yet
complementary systems of action
Effective management
controls complexity
Effective leadership
produces useful change
Effective leadership + good management =
healthy organizations
Leaders and Managers:
Distinguishing their roles
Establish
organizational
mission
Leader’s Job
Formulate
Strategy for
implementing
mission
Manager’s Job
Implement
organizational
strategy
Social Psychology of Leadership?
Leadership is…
 A relationship
 A group phenomenon
 A form of social influence
What is Leadership?
Leadership is…
the process of getting
the cooperation of
others in accomplishing
a desired goal.
Leadership is…
the ability to influence
a group toward the
achievement of goals.
What is Leadership?
Leadership is defined in a variety of ways
depending on the philosophical and
sociological position of the definer or theorist.
Since leaders are found at all levels of
groups, organizations, and society, it seems
almost everyone intuitively has a concept or
opinion of what leadership is or should be,
and those concepts throughout history are as
diverse as the theoretical definitions present
in the literature. Thus, it is not surprising that
leadership has been conceptualized, studied,
and theorized in very different ways.
Organizational Leadership
Organizational
Leadership…
is the ability to
influence employees
to voluntarily pursue
an organization’s
goals.
Leadership Characteristics
• Involves noncoercive influence
• Is goal directed
• Requires followers
Formal vs. Informal Leadership
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Formal Leadership
– The process of influencing relevant others to
pursue official organizational objectives.
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Informal Leadership
– The process of influencing other to pursue
unofficial objectives that may or may not
serve the organization’s interests.
What is a Follower?
A follower is an individual who follows the
ideas, goals, or tasks of a leader.
 Followers are developed by working
together to identify goals and strategies
for achieving the goals.

Leadership History
The study of leadership is not new:
“The study of leadership rivals in age the
emergence of civilization, which shaped
its leaders as much as it was shaped by
them. From its infancy, the study of
history has been the study of leaders –
what they did and why they did it.
(1990, Bass and Stogdill’s Handbook of
Leadership. 3rd Ed. p.3)
Evolution of Leadership Theory
Overview of Traditional Leadership
Theories
Dispositional theories: there are certain
attributes which make a great leader
 Behavior theories: great leadership is
based on what someone does
 Situational (contingency) theories:
interaction between leader and situation is
important
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Leadership Theory
Leadership as a Person (Traits)
 Leadership as Role (Contingency Theories)
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– A person may be an effective leader in one
circumstance but perform poorly in a different
circumstance.
Leadership as a Person x Role
 Leadership as power & influence
 New perspectives
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Modern Thought on Leadership
The end of WW1 brought the demise of
hereditary leadership
 First theories on personal qualities or traits
 After WW2, shift to observable behaviours
 1960’s - Situational leadership
 Recently - transactional to transformational
leadership
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Leadership: Person and Role:
what personality goes with style?

Personality traits: introversion, optimism,
need for power, flamboyance
 Role attributes: Theory X, expressive,
participative
 Situational characteristics: stability,
uncertainty, complexity (remember
“contingency”)
Leadership: Traditional
Explanations
Person-based Theories
Situational Theories
Dispersed Theories
Exchange Theories
The trait approach
Early research into leadership can be characterized as a
search for ‘the great man’. Personal characteristics of
leaders were emphasized and the implicit idea was that
leaders are born rather than made. All leaders were
supposed to have certain stable characteristics that made
them into leaders. The focus was on identifying and
measuring traits that distinguished leaders from non-leaders
or effective from ineffective leaders. There was the hope that
a profile of an ‘ideal’ leader could be derived from the above
that could serve as the basis for selection of future leaders.
Trait Theories
Leadership Traits:
• Ambition and energy
• The desire to lead
• Honesty and
integrity
• Self-confidence
• Intelligence
• Job-relevant
knowledge
The Trait Approach
Great Person Theory
The view that leaders
possess special traits
that set them apart
from others and that
these traits are
responsible for their
assuming positions of
power and authority.
Great Man - Trait Theories
Early research attempted to identify specific traits
differentiating leaders from followers.
Personality, social, physical, and intellectual
traits were found to differentiate leaders from
others.
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Bernard, 1926
Bingham, 1927
Kilbourne, 1935
Mann, 1959
Stogdill, 1948
Tead, 1929
Trait Theories
People tend to perceive that someone is a leader
when he or she exhibits certain:
 Physical qualities
 Character attributes
 Intellectual qualities
 Personal qualities
Attribution Theory
of Leadership
Traits of a Leader
•Drive and Ambition
•Self-Confidence
•Desire to Lead
•Intelligence
•Honesty and Integrity •Technical Expertise
Prentice Hall, 2000
Chapter 10
31
Big 5 Personality Predictors of
Leadership Ability
Extroversion
 Agreeableness
 Conscientiousness
 Lack of Neuroticism
 Openness to experience
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Motivation and Leadership
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Leader Motive Pattern
– High need for power
– High need for achievement
– Low need for affiliation
Negative leadership traits that prevent
individuals from being leaders
Uninformed
 Non-participative
 Rigid
 Authoritarian
 Offensive
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Criticisms – Trait Theories
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No universal traits predict leadership in all situations
Unclear evidence of the cause and effect of relationship
of leadership and traits.
(Which comes first, trait or leadership position?)
Traits predict behavior better in “weak” than “strong”
situations.
Provides little guidance concerning what advice or
training to give current or soon-to-be leaders
Better predictor of the appearance of leadership than
distinguishing effective and ineffective leaders.
Overlooks needs of followers
Fails to clarify trait's relative importance.
Summary and Conclusions
–Great deal of literature examining
the impact of individual differences
on leadership
–Literature provides some support
for the role of individual differences
 Appear to be key skill and traits for
associated with effective leadership
Style Approach
Emphasizes the behavior of leader
 Two kinds of behavior: task behaviors
(help group members to achieve their
goals) and relationship behaviors (help
subordinates feel comfortable with
themselves, with each other, and with
the situation)
 Style studies since late 1940’s

Leadership Style &
Emotional Climate
Autocratic style the leader uses
strong, directive,
controlling actions
to enforce the rules,
regulations,
activities, &
relationships in the
work environment;
followers have little
discretionary
influence
Democratic style the leader takes
collaborative,
reciprocal,
interactive actions
with followers;
followers have high
degree of
discretionary
influence
Laissez-fair style the leader fails to
accept the
responsibilities of
the position;
creates chaos in
the work
environment
Leadership Roles
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Early studies identified three different
styles:
 Autocratic
 Democratic
 Laissez-faire
Leadership as Behavior
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Leadership as Behavior or Function (Skills)
 Leadership consists of certain behaviors, or
functions, that groups must have performed.
– 1. Task orientation
– 2. People orientation
– 3. Change-oriented behaviors
Leadership
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Leadership Styles
– Manz and Sims (2001) reported:
1. The quality of group output was better under
democratic leadership.
2. Democratic leadership took more time than
autocratic.
3. Member satisfaction was higher under democratic
leadership.
4. The democratic group had the lowest
absenteeism.
5. The democratic group fostered more
independence.
Contemporary Approaches to
Leadership
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Attribution theory
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Charismatic leadership
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Visionary leadership
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Transactional leadership
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Transformational leadership
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Emotional Intelligence
TASK-ORIENTED V PEOPLEORIENTED LEADERSHIP (Blake
and Mouton, 1964)
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TASK-ORIENTED
– task is uppermost;
– employee needs close
supervision;
– supervisor upset when
tasks not accomplished;
– human aspect
neglected;
– regular checks on work
progress;
– perceived as “tough”;

PEOPLE-ORIENTED
– concern for
subordinates’ needs;
– climate building;
– inquiries about
problems;
– can be
counterproductive if
“overdone”.
Contingency Approach
Effective
leadership
behavior
depends on
the situation at
hand
Contingency Leadership Theory
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Given the right context, every leadership
theory or model is the correct one.
There is no one best style of leadership
Leadership style must match the situation
The Continuum of Leadership Behavior
(Tannenbaum, 1974)
PUSH
AUTOCRAT
Boss
Tells
Sells
[Tests]
Consults
Employee
Joins
PULL
DEMOCRAT
Autocractic or Democratic?
Reasons for a more participative or
democratic style:
 Information or expertise exists among
subordinates
 Greater understanding, acceptance and
support of decision by subordinates
LEADERSHIP STYLE MATRIX
High
People
Focus
Low
Supportive or Humanrelations Leadership
Participative or
Democratic Leadership
High Concern for People; High Concern for People;
Low Concern for Task
High Concern for Task
Abdicative or Laissezfaire Leadership
Directive or Autocratic
Leadership
Low Concern for People;
Low Concern for Task
Low Concern for People;
High Concern for Task
Low
Task Focus
High
Situational Leadership Theory
Situational Leadership
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Strengths
– Practical: easy to understand and apply
– Prescriptive: tells what to do or what to do not
in various situations
– Leader’s flexibility: employees and leading
styles differ from situation to situation
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Criticisms
– Leader’s styles and employee’s development
level do not always match, there exist other
factors too
Task vs. Relationship
Task-oriented
Leadership
Relationship-oriented
Leadership
Is best under
situations of high
or low control
Is best under
situations of
moderate control
The Managerial Grid
Contingency Leadership
Framework Variables
Followers
Capability
Motivation
Leader
Personality
traits
Behavior
Experience
Situation
Task
Structure
Environment
Leadership Continuum
“A continuum of leadership style extending
from complete retention of power by the
manager to complete freedom for
subordinates"
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Autocratic ("Telling")
Diplomatic ("Selling)
Consultative ("Consulting")
Participative ("Joining")
What are the situational or contingency
leadership approaches?
 Leader traits and behaviors can act in
conjunction with situational contingencies.
 The effects of leader traits are enhanced by their
relevance to situational contingencies.
 Major situational contingency theories.
– Fiedler’s leadership contingency theory.
– House’s path-goal theory of leadership.
– Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model.
– Vroom-Jago Normative decision theory
– Substitutes for Leadership
Contingency Leadership
Theories
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The appropriate style of
leadership is contingent on the
requirements of the particular
situation and the situational
variables mediating the
interaction between leadership
behavior and situations
resulting in effectiveness or
“situational favorableness”
Only the leader possessing
particular qualities will arise
due to the specific situational
circumstances requiring
specific leadership abilities
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Least Preferred Coworker
(LPC)
– Fiedler (1964, 1967, 1971)
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Path-Goal Theory
– House (1971)
– House and Mitchell (1974)
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Normative Decision-Making
Model
– Vroom and Yetton (1973)
– Vroom and Jago (1988)
Path-Goal Theory
“You know what makes leadership? It is the
ability to get men to do what they don't
want to do and like it.” --Harry Truman
Path-Goal Theory
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A theory of leadership suggesting that subordinates
will be motivated by a leader only to the extent they
perceive this individual as helping them to attain
valued goals.
Four basic leadership styles:
– Instrumental (directive): An approach focused on providing
specific guidance and establishing work schedules and rules.
– Supportive: A style focused on establishing good relations with
subordinates and satisfying their needs.
– Participative: A pattern in which the leader consults with
subordinates, permitting them to participate in decisions.
– Achievement Oriented: An approach in which the leader sets
challenging goals and seeks improvements in performance.
Path-Goal Leadership Model
Used to select the
leadership style that is
appropriate to the
situation to maximize
performance and job
satisfaction.
4 Basic Path-Goal Leadership Types
Instrumental (directive): An approach focused
on providing specific guidance and
establishing work schedules and rules.
Supportive: A style focused on establishing
good relations with subordinates and
satisfying their needs.
Participative: A pattern in which the leader
consults with subordinates, permitting them
to participate in decisions.
Achievement Oriented: An approach in which
the leader sets challenging goals and seeks
improvements in performance.
Path-Goal Guidelines to Be
Effective Leader
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Determine the outcomes subordinates want
– e.g., good pay, job security, interesting work, and
autonomy to do one’s job, etc.
Reward individuals with their desired outcomes
when they perform well
 Be clear with expectations

– Let individuals know what they need to do to receive
rewards (the path to the goal)
– Remove barriers that prevent high performance
– Express confidence that individuals have the ability to
perform well
Path-Goal Leadership Styles
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Directive
– Informs subordinates of expectations, gives
guidance, shows how to do tasks

Supportive
– Friendly and approachable, shows concern for
status, well-being and needs of subordinates
Path-Goal Leadership Styles

Participative
– Consults with subordinates, solicits suggestions, takes
suggestions into consideration

Achievement oriented
– Sets challenging goals, expects subordinates to
perform at highest level, continuously seeks
improvement in performance, has confidence in
highest motivations of employees
The Path-Goal Theory
Environmental
Situational Factors
Leader
Behavior
Outcomes
Subordinate
Situational Factors
Prentice Hall, 2000
Chapter 10
67
Transformational Leadership
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Since late 1970’s
Part of the ’New leadership’ paradigm
Attention to the charismatic and affective
elements of leadership
A process that changes and transforms
individuals
Emotions, values, ethics, standards, longterm goals
Incorporates charismatic and visionary
leadership
Transactional and
Transformational Leaders
Transactional
Transformational
Use formal rewards and
punishments
Uses personal attributes to
inspire followers
Deal making
Excites followers
Contractual obligations
“The most powerful kind of
leadership is to offer people
pathways and permissions to do
things they want to do but feel
unable to do for themselves. That
sort of energy evokes energies
within people that far exceed the
powers of coercion.”
(Palmer 1993)
True Leader
"A leader is best when people barely know
he exists.
Not so good when people obey and acclaim
him.
Worse when they despise him.
But of a good leader who talks little, when
his work is done and his aim fulfilled, they
will say, "We did it ourselves."
-- Lao Tsu, 600 B.C.
Bass’s Theory of Transformational and
Transactional Leadership
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Transformational leaders possess charismatic-leader
characteristics (vision, rhetorical skills, etc.).
Transactional leaders do not possess these leader
characteristics, nor are they able to develop strong
emotional bonds with followers or inspire followers
to do more than they thought they could. Instead,
transactional leaders motivate followers by setting
goals and promising rewards for desired
performance.
Transactional &
Transformational Leadership
As a
transactional leader,
I use formal rewards
& punishments.
As a
transformational leader,
I inspire and excite
followers to high levels
of performance.
Transformational Leadership
Theory

Transformational leaders
– Are capable of charting new courses for their
organization.
– Are visionaries who challenge people to do
exceptional things, above and beyond the
plan.

Transactional leaders
– Monitor people to see that they do the
expected, according to plan in order to
maintain the status quo.
– Get people to do things by offering a reward
Understanding Transformational
Leadership
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Transactional leaders – pursue an economic
exchange with the employee in return for
contracted services rendered
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Transformational leaders – support employee’s
needs to move to higher levels of achievement
while simultaneously encouraging them to
transcend their own self-interest for the sake of
the team or organization
REMEMBER . . .
25% of organisational productivity
is due to
employee satisfaction.
Chris Argyris:
Personality and Organization
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Traditional management principles produce
conflict between people and organizations.
– Task specialization produces narrow, boring jobs that require
few skills.
– Directive leadership makes workers dependent and treats
them like children.
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Workers adapt to frustration in several ways:
– Withdraw—absenteeism or quitting
– Become passive, apathetic
– Resist top-down control through deception, featherbedding,
or sabotage
– Climb the hierarchy
– Form groups (such as labor unions)
– Train children to believe work is unrewarding
ZONE OF INDIFFERENCE
The Area Within Which
an Individual Will Comply
With Directives Without
Question.
Follower Characteristics
Identification with the leader and the
vision
 Heightened emotional levels
 Willing subordination to the leader
 Feelings of empowerment

Five Types of Followers
Independent, critical thinking
Alienated
followers
Effective
followers
Survivors
Passive
Sheep
Yes
people
Source: R. E. Kelley, “In Praise of
Followers,” Harvard Business Review 66
(1988): 145.
Independent, uncritical thinking
Active
Dynamic Follower
Responsible
steward of his or
her job
 Effective in
managing the
relationship with
the boss
 Practices selfmanagement
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McGregor’s Theory X & Theory Y
McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. (2
assumptions about basic nature)
 Theory X
– Workers are passive and lazy
– Prefer to be led
– Resist change
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Theory Y
– Management’s basis task is to ensure that workers
meet their important needs while they work
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Either theory can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Motivation
McGregor’s Theory of
Motivation
THEORY Y
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THEORY X
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Man dislikes work and will avoid it if
he can.
Man must be forced or bribed to
put out the right effort.
Man would rather be directed than
accept responsibility, which he
avoids.
Man is motivated mainly by money.
Man is motivated by anxiety about
his security.
Most men have little creativity except when it comes to getting
round management rules!
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Work is necessary to man’s psychological
growth
Man wants to be interested in his work
and, under the right conditions he can
enjoy it
Man will direct himself towards an
accepted target
Man will seek, and accept responsibility
under the right conditions
The discipline a man imposes on himself
is more effective, and can be more
severe, than any imposed on him
Under the right conditions man is
motivated by the desire to realise his
own potential
Creativity and ingenuity are widely
distributed and grossly underused.
Servant Leadership
Servant Leaders focus
on providing increased
service to others—meeting
the goals of both the
followers and the
organization—rather than
themselves
Ten Characteristics
of the Servant Leader
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Focus on listening
Ability to empathize with others’ feelings
Focus on healing suffering
Self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses
Use of persuasion rather than positional
authority to influence others
Ten Characteristics of
the Servant Leader
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Broad-based conceptual thinking
Ability to foresee future outcomes
Belief that they are stewards of their
employees and resources
Commitment to the growth of people
Drive to build community within and outside
the organization
Benefits of Leading Without
Authority

Latitude for creative deviance
– Easier to raise questions

Issue focus
– Freedom to focus on single issue, rather than
many issues

Frontline information
– Often closer to the people who have the
information
Substitutes for Leadership

In some situations, leader may not be
necessary
– Other factors may substitute for or neutralize
leader’s influence
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Potential substitutes:
– Individual characteristics
– Job structure
– Organizational characteristics
SUBSTITUTES FOR
LEADERSHIP
Subordinate Characteristics
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Ability
Experience
Training
Knowledge
Professional Orientation
Task Characteristics
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Unambiguous and Routine
Methodologically Invariant
Providing Feedback Itself
Intrinsically Satisfying
Task Characteristics
 Closely-knit, Cohesive Work
Group
Workers That Are
Experienced or
Highly-Trained
Jobs That Are
Unambiguous or
Highly Satisfying
Is Leadership
Always Relevant?
Workgroups
That Are Cohesive
Prentice Hall, 2000
Goals That Are
Formalized or
Rules That Are Rigid
Chapter 10
90
Implicit Leadership Theory

We have a subjective mental prototype of
what leaders are like
– Attribute typical set of traits to leaders
– People who fit the prototype more likely to be
judged as effective leaders
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Prototypes and gender
Leadership as Power
Power is the extent to which one person can
exert more force on other group members
than they, in turn, can exert to resist the
leader's intentions
What is power?
 Power is the ability to …
– Get someone to do something you want done.
– Make things happen in the way you want.
 Influence is …
– What you have when you exercise power.
– Expressed by others’ behavioral response to
your exercise of power.
Five Sources of Power
1.
Legitimate Power all managers have; results
from managers’ formal positions within the
organization
2.
Reward Power all managers have; results from
manager’s authority to reward their subordinates
3.
Coercive Power all managers have; results from
the manager’s authority to punish subordinates
4.
Expert Power is power resulting from one’s
specialized information or expertise
5.
Referent Power power derived from one’s
personal attraction
Outcomes of Power Use

Commitment
– Influence target agrees with and internalizes request
– Referent & expert power

Compliance
– Influence target is apathetic about request but agrees to carry it out
– Legitimate & reward power
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Resistance
– Influence target opposes request and avoids carrying it out
– Coercive power
Men’s and Women’s Leadership
Styles
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In general, women fall back on a democratic
leadership style
–
–
–
–
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Encourage participation
Share power and information
Attempt to enhance followers’ self-worth
Prefer to lead through inclusion
Men feel more comfortable with a directive
command-and-control style
– Rely on formal authority
Cultural Issues in Leadership

Societal cultural values and practices
affect leaders:
– Shape the leader’s values and norms
– Influence decisions and actions

Some features of leadership are
universal, others differ across cultures
– “Charismatic visionary” seems to be
universal
– Participative leadership works better in
some cultures than others
Conclusions
Leadership plays a central part in understanding
group behavior.
 Our understanding of leadership and the dynamics
continues to grow.
 Theories offer incomplete explanations.
 A lot of research has been done, illustrating the
complexity of leadership
 Leadership as person, role, & situation.
 Leader as an active, flexible pursuer of vision who
influences others towards achievement of vision.

Conclusions
Male and female leadership styles tend to
be more alike than different.
 No one style of leadership is always the
preferred leadership style.
 Leadership is not value free and culturallybound.
