Leadership Ch 13 Part 2: April 17

Contingency Theories Focus on which leadership styles are most effective under which conditions 1. Fiedler’s LPC theory Leader traits & situational aspects are impt Trait of most importance is your assessment of your Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) Evaluate that personal favorably/unfavorably?

Is this viewed as a trait or state? Low LPC = don’t like the person and evaluate them negatively (concern with what?) High LPC = don’t like the person, but can see positive aspects (concern with what?) Is this viewed as a trait or state? Effectiveness of each LPC style depends on: Leader-member relations Degree of task structure Leader’s position power

Fiedler’s LPC (cont.) Low LPC most effective when? High LPC most effective when?

Applying LPC theory Match leader to situation; practical Evaluation of theory – Conclusions about leader effectiveness derived from many studies Criticisms?

Normative Decision Theory (Vroom & Yago) Another contingency theory, focused on styles of participative decision making Prescriptive theory indicating which of 5 styles a leader should adopt based on decision tree Autocratic (2 types) Consultative (2 types) Group decision (1 type)

Normative Decision Model Decision Stylea Definition AI Leader makes the decision alone AII Leader asks for information from team members but makes the decision alone. Team members may or may not be informed what the situation is. CI Leader shares situation with each team member and asks for information and evaluation. Team members do not meet as a team, and the leader alone makes the decision. CII Leader and team members meet as a team to discuss the situation, but the leader makes the decision. G Leader and team members meet as a team to discuss the situation, and the team makes the decision. aA = autocratic C = consultative G = group Sources: V. H. Vroom and P. W. Yetton, Leadership and Decision-Making (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1973); V. H. Vroom and A. G. Jago, The New Leadership: Managing Participation in Organizations (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988). Adapted from Exhibit 11.6: Normative Decision-Making Model: Decision-Making Styles

Normative Decision Theory (cont.) Follow decision tree, questions related to quality of decision needed and acceptance of decision Evaluation of theory?

Self-Leadership Idea that there are substitutes for leadership, may not need leader position anymore What could substitute? How well do these variables predict important outcomes?

Substitutes for Leadership Ability, experience, training Intrinsically satisfying task Substitutes for leadership Professional orientation Ability, experience, training Substitutes for Leadership Professional orientation Advisory or staff support Intrinsically satisfying task Advisory or staff support Direct feedback from the task Cohesive work group (with positive performance norms) Cohesive work group (with positive performance norms Direct feedback from the task Adapted from Exhibit 11.8: Examples of Possible Substitutes for Leadership

Hogan & Kaiser (2005) article ‘Bright side’ and ‘Dark side’ of personality: Bright: initial impressions, best social performance (interview) Dark: let guard down (who actually comes to work) Difficulty with identifying these tendencies? ‘Troubador’ and ‘Academic” research on leadership: Troubador – Academic –

(cont.) Leader Effectiveness: They define leadership as the ability to build/maintain a group that performs well relative to competition. How would they prefer to evaluate leaders? Any focus on leader emergence? Leader competencies can be explained by their model (Table 1 in article)

H & K’s Model 4 competencies: 1) 2) 3) 4) Developmental model (in above order); hierarchy of increasing trainability Does leadership matter? Affects culture of top mgmt team  business outcomes Best predictor of employee satisfaction?

(cont.) Managerial incompetence: Poor interpersonal skills Unable to get work done Unable to build a team Unable to transition after promotion Using DSM-IV to examine failures – 3 points 1) 2) 3)