Leadership

Learning Objectives After studying the chapter, you should be able to: Explain what leadership is, when leaders are effective and ineffective, and the sources of power that enable managers to be effective leaders. Identify the traits that show the strongest relationship to leadership, the behaviors leaders engage in, and the limitations of the trait and behavioral models of leadership.

Learning Objectives Explain how contingency models of leadership enhance our understanding of effective leadership and management in organizations. Describe what transformational leadership is, and explain how managers can engage in it. Characterize the relationship between gender leadership.

The Nature of Leadership The process by which a person exerts influence over others and inspires, motivates and directs their activities to achieve group or organizational goals. Effective leadership increases the firm’s ability to meet new challenges. Leader An individual who is able to exert influence over other people to help achieve group or organizational goals

The Nature of Leadership Personal Leadership Style The specific ways in which a manager chooses to influence others shapes the way that manager approaches the other tasks of management. Leaders may delegate and support subordinates, while others are very authoritarian. The challenge is for managers at all levels to develop an effective personal management style.

Leadership Across Cultures Leadership styles may vary among different countries or cultures. European managers tend to be more people-oriented than American or Japanese managers. Japanese managers are group-oriented, while U.S managers focuses more on profitability. Time horizons also are affected by cultures.

Sources of Managerial Power Figure 14.1

Power: The Key to Leadership Legitimate Power The authority that a manager has by virtue of his or her position in the firm. Example: the power to hire or fire employees. Reward Power The ability of a manager to give or withhold tangible and intangible rewards. Example: awarding pay raises or providing verbal praise for good performance. Effective managers use reward power to signal to employees that they are doing a good job.

Power: The Key to Leadership Coercive Power The ability of a manager to punish others. Examples: verbal reprimand, pay cuts, and dismissal Limited in effectiveness and application; can have serious negative side effects. Expert Power Power that is based on special knowledge, skills, and expertise that the leader possesses. First-line and middle managers have the most expert power; most often consists of technical ability.

Power: The Key to Leadership Referent Power Power that comes from subordinates’ and coworkers’ respect for the personal characteristics of a leader which earns their loyalty and admiration. Usually held by and available for use by likable managers who are concerned about their workers.

Empowerment: An Ingredient in Modern Management The process of giving workers at all levels more authority to make decisions and the responsibility for their outcomes.

Empowerment: An Ingredient in Modern Management Empowerment helps managers: Get workers involved in the decisions. Increase worker commitment and motivation. Have time to focus on other issues.

Leadership Models Trait Model Attempted to identify personal characteristics that cause for effective leadership. Research shows that certain personal characteristics do appear to be connected to effective leadership. Many “traits” are the result of skills and knowledge and effective leaders do not necessarily possess all of these traits.

Leadership Models Behavioral Model Identifies the two basic types of behavior that many leaders engaged in to influence their subordinates

Leadership Models Behavioral Model Consideration: employee-centered leadership behavior indicating that a manager trusts, respects, and cares about subordinates Initiating structure: job-oriented leadership behavior that managers engage in to ensure that work gets done, subordinates perform their jobs acceptably, and the organization is efficient and effective. Both behaviors are independent; managers can be high or low on both behaviors.

Contingency Models of Leadership Fiedler’s Model Effective leadership is contingent on both the characteristics of the leader and of the situation. Leader style is the enduring, characteristic approach to leadership that a manager uses and does not readily change. Relationship-oriented style: leaders concerned with developing good relations with their subordinates and to be liked by them. Task-oriented style: leaders whose primary concern is to ensure that subordinates perform at a high level so the job gets done.

Fiedler’s Model Situation Characteristics How favorable a situation is for leading to occur. Leader-member relations—determines how much workers like and trust their leader. Task structure—the extent to which workers tasks are clear-cut; clear issues make a situation favorable for leadership. Position Power—the amount of legitimate, reward, and coercive power leaders have due to their position. When positional power is strong, leadership opportunity becomes more favorable.

Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership Figure 14.2

Fiedler’s Model in Application Combines considerations of leader-member relations, task structure, and position power to identify leadership situations. Identifies situations where given types of managers might perform best. Leader style is a characteristic managers cannot change; managers will be most effective when: they are placed in situations that suit their leader style. the situation can be changed to fit the manager’s leader style.

House’s Path-Goal Theory A contingency model of leadership proposing the effective leaders can motivate subordinates by: Clearly identifying the outcomes workers are trying to obtain from their jobs. Rewarding workers for high-performance and goal attainment with the outcomes they desire Clarifying the paths to the attainment of the goals, remove obstacles to performance, and express confidence in worker’s ability.

Motivating with Path-Goal Path-Goal identifies four leadership behaviors: Directive behaviors: set goals, assign tasks, show how to do things. Supportive behavior: look out for the worker’s best interest. Participative behavior: give subordinates a say in matters that affect them. Achievement-oriented behavior: Setting very challenging goals, believing in worker’s abilities.

Motivating with Path-Goal Which behavior to be used depends on the nature of the subordinates and the tasks.

The Leader Substitutes Model Leadership Substitute Acts in the place of a leader and makes leadership unnecessary. Possible substitutes can be found in: Characteristics of the subordinates: their skills, experience, motivation. Characteristics of context: the extent to which work is interesting and fun. Worker empowerment or self-managed work teams reduce leadership needs. Managers should be aware that they do not always need to directly exert influence over workers.

Transformational Leadership Leadership that: Makes subordinates aware of the importance of their jobs and performance to the organization by providing feedback to the worker. Makes subordinates aware of their own needs for personal growth and development. Motivates workers to work for the good of the organization, not just themselves.

Being a Charismatic Leader An enthusiastic, self-confident transformational leader able to clearly communicate his or her vision of how good things could be by: Being excited and clearly communicating excitement to subordinates. Openly sharing information with employees so that everyone is aware of problems and the need for change. Empowering workers to help with solutions. Engaging in the development of employees by working hard to help them build skills.

Transactional Leadership Use their reward and coercive powers to encourage high performance—they exchange rewards for performance and punish failure. Push subordinates to change but do not seem to change themselves. Do not have the “vision” of the transformational leader.

Intellectual Stimulation Behavior a leader engages in to make followers be aware of problems and view these problems in new ways, consistent with the leader’s vision.

Developmental Consideration Behavior a leader engages in to support and encourage followers and help them develop and grow on the job.

Gender and Leadership The number of women managers is rising but is still relatively low in the top levels of management. Stereotypes suggest women are supportive and concerned with interpersonal relations. Similarly, men are seen as task-focused. Research indicates that actually there is no gender-based difference in leadership effectiveness. Women are seen to be more participative than men because they adopt the participative approach to overcome subordinate resistance to them as managers and they have better interpersonal skills.

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership The Moods of Leaders: Affect their behavior and effectiveness as leaders. Affect the performance of their subordinates. Emotional Intelligence Helps leaders develop a vision for their firm. Helps motivate subordinates to commit to the vision. Energizes subordinates to work to achieve the vision.

Movie Example: The Patriot How many ways does Benjamin Martin (Gibson) show leadership? What type of leader is he? Described by Leonard Maltin as “a former hero of the French and Indian Wars, Benjamin Martin (Gibson), widowed with seven children, refuses to fight in the Continental Army in 1776; he’s seen the horror of war firsthand, and wants to protect his family. But after the elder son enlists, fate and circumstance force him into the fray.” Benjamin Martin shows leadership in several scenes – As a father trying to protect his family and as a leader in the Continental Army trying to fight for a new nation. In Ch 18, “Cornwallis and the Ghost”, Martin discusses the rules of war with General Cornwallis. This might lead to a discussion in class of competition and the rules of competition, especially if you’re a small business fighting a big business.