PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR CHAPTER SIX PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR © Prentice Hall 2006 6-1

Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following: Describe participative leadership behaviors and provide examples of specific leader behaviors. Explain why participative leadership can have positive influences on follower behaviors. Describe skills and abilities that are needed to be an effective participative leader. Describe the individual and organizational benefits that can result from effective participative leadership. © Prentice Hall 2006 6-2

Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following: Identify characteristics of followers that make participative leadership highly effective and characteristics that make it ineffective. Identify organizational and task characteristics that make participative leadership highly effective and characteristics that make it ineffective. Describe how leaders can modify situations to increase the effectiveness of their participative leadership. Explain how leaders can modify followers’ work situations to make followers less dependent on the leader’s participative leadership. © Prentice Hall 2006 6-3

Participative Leadership Participative leaders involve followers in the decision processes. Participative leadership includes describing a decision problem to a group of followers and asking for their input on the implications of various alternative solutions already developed by the leader. It also involves holding informal conversations with individual followers to draw their ideas out and listening carefully to understand and incorporate their information into a decision solution. © Prentice Hall 2006 6-4

Types of Participative Leadership Behavior Consulting with groups Consulting with individuals Asking for opinions about alternatives Participative Leadership Behaviors Obtaining information from followers Joint decision making with followers Delegation © Prentice Hall 2006 6-5

Degrees of Participation Autocratic Decision Consensus/Group Decision Consultation Delegation LOW Influence by Followers HIGH Source: Adapted from Gary Yukl (1998) Leadership in Organizations. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey © Prentice Hall 2006 6-6

Real Leaders Real leaders vary their use of different forms of participation. Some leaders, for example, use consensus decision making with only one or two trusted followers; others prefer large group meetings where all points of view are heard. Some leaders use delegation only after carefully specifying guidelines and limits to the decision option chosen and may require that the final decision be subjected to the leader’s approval before implementation. Other leaders give followers complete freedom in arriving at and implementing a solution. Most leaders use different combinations of participation at different times, adapting them to each situation and group of followers. © Prentice Hall 2006 6-7

TO DELEGATE EFFECTIVELY Effective Delegation TO DELEGATE EFFECTIVELY DO Understand your authority & responsibility Clearly communicate performance expectations Make followers responsible for results Delegate challenging responsibilities Show confidence in followers’ ability to perform Reward accomplishment AVOID Lack of agreement on authority & responsibility Lack of understanding of group’s objectives Involvement of followers not trained to effectively perform Showing a lack of confidence in followers Requiring “nothing less than perfection” Making followers feel insecure © Prentice Hall 2006 6-8

Skills, Traits & Sources Participative Leadership Skills, Traits and Sources of Power for Effective Participative Leadership Self-Monitoring Skills Listening Skills Assertiveness Skills Conflict Management Skills Skills, Traits & Sources of Power for Effective Participative Leadership Expert Power Legitimate Power Resource/Connection Power © Prentice Hall 2006 6-9

Major Effects of Participative Leadership Group or Organizational Benefits improved quality of decisions increased performance smoother implementation of decisions less resistance to change Follower Benefits satisfaction with work and leader increased performance motivation less resistance to change improved development © Prentice Hall 2006 6-10

Enhancers of Participative Leadership Effectiveness SITUATIONAL FACTORS THAT ENHANCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP TASK CHARACTERISTICS FOLLOWER CHARACTERISTICS Important task Requires followers’ commitment Uncertainty Job competence Needs for independence and growth Internal locus of control Expect participation GROUP & LEADER CHARACTERISTICS Group harmony Trust in leader Good leader skills in conflict management © Prentice Hall 2006 6-11

Situational Factors That Neutralize Effectiveness of Participative Leadership Large group size Tasks that are highly structured or complex SITUATIONAL FACTORS THAT NEUTRALIZE EFFECTIVENESS OF PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP Passive followers, authoritarian followers, followers willing to accept autocratic leadership © Prentice Hall 2006 6-12

Overcoming Factors that Neutralize Effectiveness of Participative Leadership Task redesign can be used to manipulate the structure and complexity of followers’ tasks, and selection procedures can help determine if specific personality types are well matched with certain jobs. When leaders face emergency decisions or those with short time deadlines, participation is not effective. In some cases, the leader may be able to extend deadlines or learn of needed decisions sooner and thus provide more time for participative leadership. Large groups may be split into subgroups. These subgroups can operate with some autonomy but will allow the leader to involve members in useful discussions of decision issues. Charismatic leadership behaviors may be effective in overcoming apathetic and passive behavior. © Prentice Hall 2006 6-13

Process Model of the Participative Leadership Process LEADER PARTICIPATIVENESS Drawing out & listening to followers Holding meetings to share decision problems & gather input Consulting with followers on decisions Giving serious consideration to followers’ input Reaching consensus with followers & leaders as equals Delegating decisions to capable followers SITUATIONAL FACTORS INCREASING LEADER EFFECTIVENESS Enhancers Task importance Task requires followers commitment Environmental uncertainty Leader’s conflict management skills Group harmony Followers’ job competence and information Followers’ need for independence Followers’ internal locus of control Expected participation Substitutes Many formal rules and procedures SITUATIONAL FACTORS DECREASING LEADER EFFECTIVENESS Neutralizers • Highly structured task • Task complexity with professional followers • Large group size • Short time deadlines • Passive followers • Authoritarian followers • Followers willing to accept autocratic leadership FOLLOWER/GROUP PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTIONS Satisfaction of needs for competence, self-control, independence, & personal growth Satisfaction with supervisor, work, & organization Motivation & commitment to decisions FOLLOWER BEHAVIORS AND OUTCOMES Increased performance & productivity Quality of decisions Development of followers’ potential Time-consuming, expensive, possible resistance © Prentice Hall 2006 6-14

Applying the Model of Participative Leadership 1. DIAGNOSING THE SITUATION Are followers highly competent and knowledgeable; do they work on important tasks; is their commitment essential to carry out the leader’s decisions? Do followers value achievement, independence and self fulfillment; do they view themselves as controlling their own lives; feel harmony and trust with the leader; and expect to participate in decisions? Is the leader effective in obtaining follower input and skilled at conflict management? Is there much environmental uncertainty? If “yes” to one or more of these questions, followers will expect and value participative leadership 3. MODIFYING FOLLOWERS & SITUATIONS Leaders also act to: Increase formal rules and procedures which prescribe how to deal with emergencies and short time deadlines Redesign tasks to increase their importance & followers’ independence Build group harmony Develop followers’ job competence and knowledge Eliminate highly structured tasks & large group Reassign followers who are passive, authoritarian or desire autocratic leadership 2. PROVIDING DIRECTIVE LEADERSHIP Leaders demonstrate participative behaviors with followers by: Holding informal conversations with individual followers to obtain information related to decisions Sharing decision problems with groups of followers to solicit their ideas or suggested solutions Assigning a decision problem to followers who are competent and desire to handle it Allowing “air time” for all followers who desire it when discussing decision problems Inviting input and discussion on points of disagreement regarding decision problems Explaining to followers why ideas or solutions are not implemented © Prentice Hall 2006 6-15