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Leadership Behavior “The leader sets the example. Whether in the Army or in civilian life, the other people in the organization take their cue from the leader – not from what the leader says, but what the leader does.” ~Colin Powell Chapter 8 8

Introduction Some leaders have a track record of getting good results across a variety of situations whereas others seem to have difficulties getting work done through others. Leadership behavior can be observed whereas personality traits, values, or intelligence must be inferred from behavior or measured with tests. Leaders with certain traits, values, or attitudes may find it easier to effectively perform some leadership behaviors than others. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-3

Why Study Leadership Behavior? There are a number of leaders who either do not know what to do and how to do it, or do not realize how their behavior is affecting the people who work for them. Leadership behaviors are a function of intelligence, personality traits, emotional intelligence values, attitudes, interests, knowledge, and experience. Over time, leaders learn and discern which behaviors are more appropriate and effective than others. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-4

The Early Studies Much of the initial leader behavior research was conducted at Ohio State University and the University of Michigan. Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) Leaders can be described in terms of two independent dimensions of behavior: Consideration Initiating structure Four categories of leadership behavior that are related to effective group performance: Leader support Interaction facilitation Goal emphasis Work facilitation McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-5

Alternative Conceptualizations of Leadership Behavior Alternative conceptualizations are concerned with : Identifying key leadership behavior. Determining whether these behaviors have positive relationships with leadership success. Developing those behaviors related to leadership success. The Leadership Grid profiles leader behavior on two dimensions : Concern for people Concern for production The most effective leaders are claimed to have both high concern for people and high concern for production. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-6

Organizational Competency Model Four major categories of the Organizational Competency Model: Intrapersonal skills Interpersonal skills Leadership skills Business skills This model allows people to see connections between seemingly different organizational competency models and makes predictions about how easy or difficult it will be to change various leadership behaviors and skills. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-7

Community Leadership Community leadership is the process of building a team of volunteers to accomplish some important community outcome. Community leaders do not have any position power; they cannot discipline followers who do not adhere to organizational norms, get tasks accomplished, or show up to meetings. Three competencies needed to successfully drive community change efforts: Framing Building social capital Mobilization McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-8

The Components of Community Leadership McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-9 Figure 8-4

Assessing Leadership Behavior: Multirater Feedback Instruments One way to improve leadership effectiveness is to provide leadership practitioners with feedback regarding the frequency and skill with which they perform various types of leadership behaviors. Today, most organizations use 360-degree tools for management development, as a part of a training or coaching program, in succession planning, or even as a part of the performance appraisal process. Leaders who received 360-degree feedback had higher performing work units than leaders who did not receive this type of feedback. 360-degree feedback systems can add tremendous value, but only if they are used for development purposes. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-10

Multirater Feedback Instruments (continued) The key to high observer ratings is to develop a broad set of leadership skills that will help groups to accomplish their goals. Managers who shared their 360-degree feedback results with their followers and worked on an action plan to improve their ratings had a dramatic improvement in others’ ratings over a five-year period. Leaders must set development goals and commit to a development plan to improve skills if they want to see improvement in others’ ratings. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-11

Cultural, Racial, and Gender Issues with 360-Degree Feedback Some countries do not believe that peers or followers should provide leaders with feedback. People seem more hesitant to provide leaders with constructive feedback if they have to deal with the consequences of this feedback both on and off work. Findings imply that black leaders are likely to advance at a slower pace than their white counterparts due to ratings by white bosses. There does not appear to be any same-sex bias in 360-degree feedback ratings. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-12

Managerial Derailment Findings imply that up to half of the leaders in any organization are not going to be able to build cohesive teams or achieve business results. Patterns of derailment: Inability to build relationships Failure to meet business objectives Inability to lead and build a team Inability to adapt Inadequate preparation for promotion McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-13

Self-Defeating Behavior Self-defeating behavior is an action or attitude that once helped an individual cope with a stressful experience but interferes with the individual’s ability to cope in new situations. Self-defeating behaviors are highly practiced and often performed automatically with little conscious thought. A person may rationalize the appropriateness of a self-defeating behavior by recalling some particular situation where the behavior was adaptive. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-14

Why Change Behavior? Changing behavior especially long-standing patterns of behavior, can be quite difficult. Learning how to change your own and others’ behaviors is a key leadership skill. Good leaders know how to change and modify the behaviors of their followers so that they can be more effective team members and better achieve team goals. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-15

Development Planning Leaders need to have insight about their development needs, such as 360-degree feedback. Leaders need to determine which new skills will have the highest personal and organizational payoffs and build development plans that address these needs. Leaders (and followers) who have a written plan seem more likely to keep development on their radar screens and take the actions necessary to acquire new skills. Leaders can build accountability by: Having different people provide ongoing feedback on the action steps taken to develop a skill. Periodically reviewing progress on development plans with the boss. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-16

The Development Pipeline McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Figure 8-6

Coaching Coaching helps leaders to improve the bench strength of the group, which in turn should help the group to accomplish its goals. Coaching is the process of equipping people with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities they need to develop themselves and become more successful. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-18

Coaching (continued) Formal Coaching One-on-one relationship between the manager and the coach. Informal Coaching – five steps: Forge a partnership Inspire commitment Grow skills Promote persistence Shape the environment McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-19

Useful Factors in Coaching McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Figure 8-8

Mentoring Informal mentoring Occurs when a protégé and mentor build a long-term relationship based on friendship, similar interests, and mutual respect. Formal mentoring Occurs when the organization assigns a relatively inexperienced but high-potential leader to one of the top executives in the company. Leadership practitioners should look for opportunities to build mentoring relationships with senior leaders whenever possible. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-21

Summary Leaders can benefit from the leadership behavior research in several ways: The behavioral approach directs attention to identifying types of leadership behavior critical to success. The behavioral approach allows leadership practitioners to focus on concrete and specific examples of leader behavior. Outgrowth of the behavioral approach has been the development of competency models and 360-degree feedback instruments. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-22

Summary (continued) Research has helped to identify factors that can cause high-potential managers to fail. Research shows that some managers seem to be able to change on their own after gaining insight on how their behavior affects others. Leaders can create development plans for themselves, and they can also help their followers with behavioral change through coaching and mentoring programs. McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-23