Document 7137310
Download
Report
Transcript Document 7137310
Chapter Seven – Leadership
Comprehend the complexities of leadership
in criminal justice organizations.
Understand the many theories of leadership.
Know the limitations of leadership research
in criminal justice organizations.
Explain the importance of leadership
development in criminal justice
organizations.
Leadership is a process that effectively
accomplishes organizational goals and is
related to effectiveness.
Administrators can learn leadership
skills.
Leadership is a group process.
Leadership in public bureaucracies is
inherently political.
Leadership research is a relatively
new area of scholarly attention.
Most of what we know about
leadership theory comes from the
groundbreaking studies conducted
at
o Ohio State University (1940’s), and
o Michigan State University (1940’s – 1960’s).
Leadership theories can be
loosely organized into one of
the following traditions.
o Leaders are born and not made
o Leadership is behavioral
o Leadership is contingency based
Assumes:
o The ability to lead others is based on certain
personality traits like the ability to relate to
others, communication skills, or charisma.
o Leadership is not a learned skill – you either
have it or you don’t.
o Leadership effectiveness is dependent upon
finding a person with the personality type that
can work well in a particular working
environment.
This approach was largely discredited
when researchers understood the
importance of contingencies.
o Some leadership ‘personalities’ are more or less
effective in certain situations, but situations
(contingencies) often change.
o Some researchers continue to advocate that
personality characteristics are an important
element of leadership effectiveness.
Focus is on how leaders behave.
Effectiveness depends on how leaders
interact with their subordinates to
accomplish tasks (initiating structures).
This approach is also concerned with how
workers achieve both organizational and
personal goals simultaneously.
o The perception of support from management is critical.
o Creating a sense of belonging among employees is
essential to effective leadership.
Emphasis is on how situational factors
present in the workplace affect
leadership.
Leadership effectiveness is determined
by whether the leader responds
appropriately to these situational
factors (contingencies).
There are two principal approaches.
Fiedler’s Contingency Model – the
leadership process is constrained by three
major situational dimensions.
o Leader-member relations
o Task structure
o Position power
Structured assessments of organizational
contingencies enable leaders to identify their most
appropriate leadership approach.
The application of Fiedler’s
Contingency Model in Criminal Justice
may be difficult.
o Given the nature of promotional selection it may
not be possible to match the right leader to a
specific task.
o The overall lack of leadership training does not
enable leaders to identify how their personality
orientations affect leadership outcomes.
Path-Goal Theory – the interaction
between leader behavior and the situational
aspects of the organization is important.
o This particular theory is linked to the expectancy theory
of human motivation.
Effective leadership is situational and does not
depend on a single style of leadership.
The effectiveness of a leadership style is based on
the degree of direction and guidance the leader
provides.
Four Leadership Styles (Path-Goal Theory)
o
o
o
o
Directive
Supportive
Achievement-oriented
Participative
Leaders may adopt various styles depending on;
o The needs/desires of the employee,
o The nature of the task, and
o Environmental conditions.
This theory grew from dissatisfaction
with trait, behavioral and contingency
theories.
Focuses on how leaders transform
organizations to produce results using:
o Mission and vision statements,
o Goal setting, and
o Creative solutions to organizational problems.
Police leaders tend to have a preferred (single)
leadership style.
o Primarily a high task and high relationship style.
o Strong communications skills.
Research on leadership in correctional agencies is
very limited.
There is a substantial need for research on
leadership throughout all parts of the criminal
justice system.
Invested heavily in leadership development with
an emphasis on education rather than training.
Developed essential elements of effective
leadership.
o
o
o
o
o
Proactive traits (communication, honesty, knowledge)
Building relationships with employees
Balancing employee and organizational needs
Transform the culture when necessary
Able to use appropriate (contingency based) leadership
tools as needed
Most criminal justice leaders either ‘come up
through the ranks’ or are elected.
Leaders are a product of the organizational
culture.
The tendency to promote leaders from within
o Restricts change in the organizational culture, and
o May encourage corruption.
Leadership in criminal justice must be understood in a
political context.
Poor leadership might be caused by a lack of
understanding about political realities and complexities.
There are numerous theories that help us understand how
leadership works.
There are benefits to applying various leadership models
in criminal justice, however, not much testing of these
models had occurred.
Our knowledge of how leadership models affect criminal
justice agencies is limited.
Young people entering the policing profession
today are part of the Generation Y and Millenial
cohorts.
These generational cohorts are broadly
characterized as culturally liberal, electronically
savvy, motivated by rewards (“Trophy Kids”), and
less likely remain employed by the same
organization throughout their professional life.
Given what you have learned about leadership,
what would be the most useful model for this
generational cohort, and why?