Unit 2: Chapter 3 –Part B: Leadership

→The Nature of leadership

✓ Leadership is the process by which a person exerts influence over other people and inspires,
motivates and directs their activities to help them achieve group or organizational goals.
✓ A leader is a person who is able to exerts influence over other people to help achieve group or
organizational goals.
✓ Effective leadership takes place when the influence of leaders contributes to the group or
organization achieving its goals.
✓ In addition, effective leaders can exert influence in a way that helps the group or organization cope
with the contemporary challenges.
✓ When leaders are ineffective, their influence does not contribute to, and often detracts from, goal
attainment.

→Personal Leadership style and Managerial tasks

o A manager’s personal leadership style- the specific ways in which a manager chooses to influence
people, shapes how that manager approaches planning, organizing and controlling.
o We are able to switch between different leadership styles. This is great news, because it means
that we are able to choose a leadership style that is effective in a particular situation.
o Servant leaders- A leader who has a strong desire to serve and work for the benefit of others.

→Leadership Styles Across Cultures

❖ We see interesting research that suggests that leaders tend to lead differently in different parts of
the world.
❖ European managers: More humanistic and people orientated. Medium term focus.
❖ Japanese managers: More focused on the group than the individual. Long term focus.
❖ USA Managers: More focused on profit and less on the needs of the individual. Short term focus.
→Power: The Key to Leadership

1. Legitimate power- the authority a manager has by virtue of his/her position in an organization
hierarchy.
2. Reward power- the ability of a manager to give or withhold tangible rewards (pay, raises, bonuses)
and intangible rewards (verbal praise, respect).
3. Coercive power- the ability of a manager to punish others. (Punishment can range from verbal
reprimands to reduction in pay or working hours to actual dismissal)
4. Expert power- based on the special knowledge, skills and expertise that a leader possesses.
5. Referent power- a function of the personal characteristics of a leader; it is the power that comes
from subordinates and coworkers respect, admiration and loyalty.

→Empowerment: An ingredient in Modern Management

▪ Empowerment- the process of giving employees at all levels the authority to make decisions, be
responsible for their outcomes, improve quality and cut cost.
▪ Reasons why empowerment contributes to effective leadership:
1. Empowerment increases a manager’s ability to get things done because the manager has
the support and help of subordinates who may have special knowledge of work tasks.
2. Empowerment often increases workers involvement, motivation and commitment; and this
help ensure that they are working toward organizational goals.
3. Empowerment gives managers more time to concentrate on their pressing concerns
because they spend less time on day-to-day supervision.
→Trait and Behavior Models of Leadership

The Trait Model:

• Focused on identifying the personal characteristics that cause effective leadership.

The Behavior Model:

➢ Two main behaviors:
1. Consideration: Behavior indicating that a manager trusts, respects, and cares about
subordinates.
2. Initiating Structure: Behavior that managers engage in to ensure that work gets done,
subordinates perform their jobs acceptably, and the organization is efficient and
effective.
→Contingency Models of Leadership
1. Fiedler’s Contingency Model:
• His model helps explain why a manager may be an effective leader in one situation and ineffective
in another.
1.1 Leader style:
~Relationship-ordinated leaders: Are concerned with developing good relationships with
their subordinates and being liked by them.
~Task=orientated leaders: Are concerned with ensuring that subordinates perform at a high
level and focus on task accomplishment.

1.2 Situational Characteristics:

✓ Fiedler identified three situational characteristics that are important determinates of how favorable
a situation is for leading:
1. Leader-member relations.
2. Task structure.
3. Position power.
✓ When a situation is favorable for leading it’s easy for a manager to influence subordinates.

1.3 Leader-member Relations:

o The extent to which followers like, trust and are loyal to their leader.
o Situations are more favorable for leading when leader-member relations are good.

1.4 Task Structure:

❖ The extent to which the work to be performed is clear-out so that a leader’s subordinates
know what needs to be accomplish and how to go about doing it.
❖ High task structure result in a favorable situation
❖ Low task structure result is an unfavorable situation.

1.5 Position Power:

▪ Amount of legitimate, reward and coercive power a leader has by virtue of his/her position
in an organization.
▪ Strong position power results in favorable situations for leading.

1.6 Combining leader style and the situation;

2. House’s Path-Goal Theory:
• Path-goal theory- A contingency model of leadership proposing that leaders can motivate
subordinates by identifying their desired outcomes, rewarding them for high performance and the
attainment of work goals with these desired outcomes, and clarifying for them the paths leading to
the attainment of work goals.
• Path-goal theory gives managers three guidelines to being effective leaders:
1. Find out what outcomes your subordinates are trying to obtain from their jobs and the organization.
2. Reward subordinates for high performance and the goal attainment with the outcomes they desire.
3. Clarify the path to goal attainment for subordinates, remove any obstacles to high performance and
express confidence in subordinates’ capabilities.
• Path-goal theory identifies four behaviors that motivates subordinates:

1. Directive behaviors- Are similar to initiating structure and include setting goals, assigning
tasks, showing subordinates how to complete tasks and taking concrete steps to improve
performance.
It may be beneficial when subordinates are having difficulty completing assigned tasks, but they
might be determinantal when subordinates are independent thinkers who work best when left
alone.
2. Supportive behaviors- Are similar to consideration and include expressing concern for
subordinates and looking out for their best interests.
Are often advisable when subordinates are experiencing high levels of stress.

3. Participative behaviors- Give subordinates a say in matters and decisions that affect them.
Can be particularly effective when subordinates support of a vision is required.
4. Achievement-orientated behaviors- Motivate subordinates to perform at the highest level possible
by setting challenging goals, expecting that they be met and believing in subordinates’ capabilities.
It may increase motivation levels of highly capable subordinates who are bored from having to few
challenges, but they might backfire if used with subordinates who are already pushed to their
limits.

3. The leader Substitutes model:

➢ A leader substitute- something that acts in place of the influence of a leader and makes leadership
unnecessary.
4. Bringing is all together:

→Transformational Leadership
o Leadership that makes subordinates aware of the importance of their jobs and performance to the
organization and aware of their own needs for personal growth and that motivates subordinates to
work for the good of the organization.
o Occurs when managers change their subordinates in three important ways:

1. Transformational managers make subordinates aware of how important their jobs are for the
organization and how necessary it is for them to perform those jobs at best they can so that the
organization can attain goals.
2. Transformational managers make their subordinates aware of the subordinate’s own needs for
personal growth, development and accomplishment.
3. Transformational managers motivate their subordinates to work for the good of the organization as a
whole, not just for their own personal gain or benefit.
o Transformational managers:
▪ Are charismatic.
▪ Intellectually stimulates subordinates.
▪ Engage in developmental consideration.
o Subordinates of transformational managers:
▪ Have increased awareness of the importance of their job and high performance.
▪ Are aware of their own needs for growth, development and accomplishment.
▪ Work for the good of the organization and not just for their own personal benefit.
Being a Charismatic Leader:
✓ They have a vision of how good things could be in their work groups and organizations that is in
contrast with the status quo.
Stimulating Subordinates Intellectually:
❖ Transformational managers openly share information with their subordinates so they are aware of
problems and the need for change.

Engaging in Developmental Consideration:

• The manager goes out of his/ her way to support and encourage subordinates, giving them
opportunities to enhance their skills and capabilities and to grow and excel on the job.

Distinguishing between Transformational and Transactional leadership:

➢ Transactional Leadership: motivates subordinates by rewarding them for high performance and
reprimanding them for low performance.

→Gender and Leadership

o Often men and women in positions of leadership tend to behave in similar ways.
o But…
o There are signs that women tend to be more participative and involve subordinates whilst men
are more likely to make decisions on their own.
o Men tend to punish their subordinates more harshly.

→Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

▪ Emotional intelligence help leaders to be more effective by helping them to promote high levels of
trust and coordination and encourages creativity.