9.1: Defining Leadership

9.1.1: Leadership

Learning Objective

Describe the relationship between leaders and followers

Key Points

• Leadership is the process by which an individual motivates others and mobilizes resources to achieve a goal.
• Leadership is both a set of behaviors that can be learned and a set of traits that can be nurtured.
• Leadership is a relationship between followers and those who inspire and provide direction for them. It involves emotional ties and commitments.

Key Term

Transformational Leadership

A theory of leading that enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms.

Defining Leadership

Leadership is the process by which an individual mobilizes people and resources to achieve a goal. It requires both a set of skills that can be learned as well as certain attributes that can be nurtured. Leaders inspire, challenge, and encourage others. They can persuade and influence, and they show resilience and persistence. All aspects of society have leaders. The concept of leader may call to mind a CEO, a prime minister, a general, a sports team captain, or a school principal; examples of leadership exist across a variety of organizations.

Leaders motivate others to aspire to achieve and help them to do so. They focus on the big picture with a vision of what could be and help others to see that future and believe it is possible. In this way, leaders seek to bring about substantive changes in their teams, organizations, and societies.

Leadership is a relationship between followers and those who inspire them and provide direction for their efforts and commitments. It affects how people think and feel about their work and how it contributes to a larger whole. Effective leaders can mean the difference between increasing a team’s ability to perform or diminishing its performance, between keeping efforts on track or encountering disaster, and even between success or failure.

Leadership and Management

Leadership is one of the most important concepts in management, and many researchers have proposed theories and frameworks for understanding it. Some have distinguished among types of leadership such as charismatic, heroic, and transformational leadership. Other experts discuss the distinctions between managers and leaders, while others address the personality and cognitive factors most likely to predict a successful leader. The many dimensions of leadership indicate how complex a notion it is and how difficult effective leadership can be.

Abraham Lincoln, 1860

Abraham Lincoln is considered a model of leadership. He fought to preserve national unity amid the United States’ greatest trial, the Civil War, and successfully worked to end slavery .

9.1.2: Management versus Leadership

Learning Objective

Distinguish between managerial roles and responsibilities and leadership roles and responsibilities

Key Points

• Many view leaders as those who direct the organization through vision and inspiration; managers are results-oriented and more focused on task organization and efficiency.
• Managers sustain current systems and processes for accomplishing work, while leaders challenge the status quo and make change happen.
• Such distinctions may create a negative concept of managers. “Leader” brings to mind heroic figures rallying people together for a cause, while “manager” suggests less charismatic individuals focusing solely on efficiency.

Key Terms

leadership

A process of social influence in which one person enlists the aid and support of others in accomplishing a common task.

management

The act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively.

Leaders vs. Managers

The terms “management” and “leadership” have been used interchangeably, yet there are clear similarities and differences between them. Both terms suggest directing the activities of others. In one definition, managers do so by focusing on the organization and performance of tasks and by aiming at efficiency, while leaders engage others by inspiring a shared vision and effectiveness. Managerial work tends to be more transactional, emphasizing processes, coordination, and motivation, while leadership has an emotional appeal, is based on relationships with followers, and seeks to transform.

One traditional way of understanding differences between managers and leaders is that people manage things but lead other people. More concretely, managers administrate and maintain the systems and processes by which work gets done. Their work includes planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing, and controlling the activities of individuals, teams, or whole organizations for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Basically, managers are results-oriented problem-solvers with responsibility for day-to-day functions who focus on the immediate, shorter-term needs of an organization.

In contrast, leaders take the long-term view and have responsibility for where a team or organization is heading and what it achieves. They challenge the status quo, make change happen, and work to develop the capabilities of people to contribute to achieving their shared goals. Additionally, leaders act as figureheads for their teams and organizations by representing their vision and values to outsiders. This definition of leadership may create a negative bias against managers as less noble or less important: “Leader” suggests a heroic figure, rallying people to unite under a common cause, while “manager” calls to mind less charismatic individuals who are focused solely on getting things done.

9.1.3: Sources of Power

Learning Objective

Identify the six different sources of power available to organizational leaders and how leaders can employ these sources of power and influence in a meaningful and ethical way

Key Points

• Power is the ability to get things done, sometimes over the resistance of others.
• Leaders have a number of sources of power, including legitimate power, referent power, expert power, reward power, coercive power, and informational power.
• All of these sources of power can be used in combination, and people often have access to more than one of them.
• Power tactics fall along three dimensions: behavioral, rational, and structural.

Key Terms

power

The ability to influence the behavior of others, with or without resistance.

Downward Power

When a superior influences subordinates.

Upward Power

When subordinates influence the decisions of the leader.

Power in Business

Power is the ability to get things done. Those with power are able to influence the behavior of others to achieve some goal or objective. Sometimes people resist attempts to make them do certain things, but an effective leader is able to overcome that resistance. Although people sometimes regard power as evil or corrupt, power is a fact of organizational life and in itself is neither good nor bad. Leaders can use power to benefit others or to constrain them, to serve the organization’s goals or to undermine them.

Another way to view power is as a resource that people use in relationships. When a leader influences subordinates, it is called downward power. We can also think of this as someone having power over someone else. On the other hand, subordinates can also exercise upward power by trying to influence the decisions of their leader. Indeed, leaders depend on their teams to get things done and in that way are subject to the power of team members.

The Six Sources of Power

Power comes from several sources, each of which has different effects on the targets of that power. Some derive from individual characteristics; others draw on aspects of an organization’s structure. Six types of power are legitimate, referent, expert, reward, coercive, and informational.

Legitimate Power

Also called “positional power,” this is the power individuals have from their role and status within an organization. Legitimate power usually involves formal authority delegated to the holder of the position.

Referent Power

Referent power comes from the ability of individuals to attract others and build their loyalty. It is based on the personality and interpersonal skills of the power holder. A person may be admired because of a specific personal trait, such as charisma or likability, and these positive feelings become the basis for interpersonal influence.

Expert Power

Expert power draws from a person’s skills and knowledge and is especially potent when an organization has a high need for them. Narrower than most sources of power, the power of an expert typically applies only in the specific area of the person’s expertise and credibility.

Reward Power

Reward power comes from the ability to confer valued material rewards or create other positive incentives. It refers to the degree to which the individual can provide external motivation to others through benefits or gifts. In an organization, this motivation may include promotions, increases in pay, or extra time off.

Cash reward

The ability to reward employees with cash and other incentives is a source of organizational power.

Coercive Power

Coercive power is the threat and application of sanctions and other negative consequences. These can include direct punishment or the withholding of desired resources or rewards. Coercive power relies on fear to induce compliance.

Informational Power

Informational power comes from access to facts and knowledge that others find useful or valuable. That access can indicate relationships with other power holders and convey status that creates a positive impression. Informational power offers advantages in building credibility and rational persuasion. It may also serve as the basis for beneficial exchanges with others who seek that information.

All of these sources and uses of power can be combined to achieve a single aim, and individuals can often draw on more than one of them. In fact, the more sources of power to which a person has access, the greater the individual’s overall power and ability to get things done.

Power Tactics

People use a variety of power tactics to push or prompt others into action. We can group these tactics into three categories: behavioral, rational, and structural.

Behavioral tactics can be soft or hard. Soft tactics take advantage of the relationship between person and the target. These tactics are more direct and interpersonal and can involve collaboration or other social interaction. Conversely, hard tactics are harsh, forceful, and direct and rely on concrete outcomes. However, they are not necessarily more powerful than soft tactics. In many circumstances, fear of social exclusion can be a much stronger motivator than some kind of physical punishment.

Rational tactics of influence make use of reasoning, logic, and objective judgment, whereas nonrational tactics rely on emotionalism and subjectivity. Examples of each include bargaining and persuasion (rational) and evasion and put downs (nonrational).

Structural tactics exploit aspects of the relationship between individual roles and positions. Bilateral tactics, such as collaboration and negotiation, involve reciprocity on the parts of both the person influencing and the target. Unilateral tactics, on the other hand, are enacted without any participation on the part of the target. These tactics include disengagement and fait accompli. Political approaches, such as playing two against one, take yet another approach to exert influence.

People tend to vary in their use of power tactics, with different types of people opting for different tactics. For instance, interpersonally-oriented people tend to use soft tactics, while extroverts employ a greater variety of power tactics than do introverts. Studies have shown that men tend to use bilateral and direct tactics, whereas women tend to use unilateral and indirect tactics. People will also choose different tactics based on the group situation and according to whom they are trying to influence. In the face of resistance, people are more likely to shift from soft to hard tactics to achieve their aims.

9.1.4: A Leader’s Influence

Learning Objective

Differentiate between various methods of influencing others and their role in effective leadership

Key Points

• Influence occurs when other people affect an individual’s emotions, opinions, or behaviors. Leaders use influence to create the behaviors needed to achieve their goal and vision.
• Harvard psychologist Herbert Kelman identified three broad varieties of social influence: compliance, identification, and internalization.
• Compliance is people behaving as others expect.
• Identification happens when people are influenced by someone who is well-liked and respected, such as a celebrity.
• Internalization of values leads to those beliefs being reflected in behavior.

Key Terms

social influence

When an individual’s emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others.

socialization

The process of inheriting and disseminating norms and customs of behavior along with ideologies and other beliefs.

The Role of Influence in Leadership

Influence occurs when a person’s emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others. It is an important component of a leader’s ability to use power and maintain respect in an organization. Influence is apparent in the form of peer pressure, socialization, conformity, obedience, and persuasion. The ability to influence is an important asset for leaders, and it is also an important skill for those in sales, marketing, politics, and law.

In 1958, Harvard psychologist Herbert Kelman identified three broad varieties of social influence: compliance, identification, and internalization. Compliance involves people behaving the way others expect them to whether they agree with doing so or not. Obeying the instructions of a crossing guard or an authority figure is an example of compliance. Identification is when people behave according to what they think is valued by those who are well-liked and respected, such as a celebrity. Status is a key aspect of identification: when people purchase something highly coveted by many others, such as the latest smartphone, they are under the influence of identification. Internalization is when people accept, either explicitly or privately, a belief or set of values that leads to behavior that reflects those values. An example is following the tenets of one’s religion.

Politics as an Example of Social Influence

Leaders, such as politicians, often use identification to gain support for their beliefs on certain issues.

How Leaders Use Influence

In an organization, a leader can use these three types of influence to motivate people and achieve objectives. For example, compliance is a means of maintaining order in the workplace, such as when employees are expected to follow the rules set by their supervisors. Similarly, identification happens when people seek to imitate and follow the actions of people they look up to and respect, for example a more experienced co-worker or trusted supervisor. Internalization results when employees embrace the vision and values of a leader and develop a commitment to fulfilling them.

Leaders use these different types of influence to motivate the behaviors and actions needed to accomplish tasks and achieve goals. Individuals differ in how susceptible they are to each type of influence. Some workers may care a great deal about what others think of them and thus be more amenable to identifying the cues for how to behave. Other individuals may want to believe strongly in what they do and so seek to internalize a set of values to guide them. In organizations and in most parts of life, sources of influence are all around us. As a result, our behavior can be shaped by how others communicate with us and how we see them.

9.1.5: A Leader’s Vision

Learning Objective

Explain the relationship among vision, mission, and strategy as it pertains to leadership

Key Points

• Vision is defined as a clear, distinctive, and specific view of the future that is usually connected with strategic decisions for the organization.
• A thriving organization will have a vision that is succinct, understandable, and indicative of the direction that the company wants to head in the future.
• Leaders are essential for communicating the vision of the organization and promoting the vision through the decisions they make and the strategies they pursue.

Key Term

vision

A clear, distinctive, and specific view of the future that is usually connected with a leader’s strategic advances for the organization.

A vision is defined as a clear, distinctive, and specific view of the future, and is usually connected with strategic advances for the organization. Effective leaders clearly define a vision and communicate it in such a way as to foster enthusiasm and commitment throughout the organization. This ability to express a vision and use it to inspire others differentiates a leader from a manager.

Many researchers believe that vision is an essential quality of effective leaders, as important as the abilities to communicate and to build trust. Effective leaders clearly communicate their vision of the organization. Their decisions and strategies reflect their view of what an enterprise can be rather than what it currently is. A strong leader builds trust in the vision by acting in ways that are consistent with it and by demonstrating to others what it takes to make the vision a reality.

Vision is an essential component of an organization’s success. A thriving organization will have a vision that is succinct, indicative of the direction that the company is heading, and widely understood throughout all levels of the organization. The more employees are aware of, understand, and believe in the vision, the more useful it is in directing their behavior on a daily basis.

Vision and mission are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is a useful distinction between the two. A vision describes an organization’s direction, while its mission defines its purpose. By focusing on the value an organization creates, the mission helps prioritize activities and provides a framework for decision-making.

Vision also plays a significant role in a leader’s strategy for the organization. By setting the direction, a vision underscores the necessity of all the areas of a business working toward the same goal. This unity of purpose often involves changing what is done and how, and aligning the activities and behavior of people is critical to fulfilling a leader’s vision. A vision reduces ambiguity and provides focus—two benefits that are especially valuable in turbulent or rapidly changing times.

Vision connects to strategy

A concise and clear vision is essential to drive and communicate an organization’s strategy.

9.1.6: Leadership Traits

Learning Objective

Summarize the key characteristics and traits that are predictive of strong leadership capacity

Key Points

• Early findings regarding trait theory show that relationships exist between leadership and individual traits such as intelligence, adjustment, extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy.
• Stephen Zaccaro, a researcher of trait theories, argues that effective leadership is derived from an integrated set of cognitive abilities, social capabilities, and dispositional tendencies, with each set of traits adding to the influence of the other.
• Zaccaro’s model points to extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, neuroticism, honesty/integrity, charisma, intelligence, creativity, achievement motivation, need for power, oral/written communication, interpersonal skills, general problem-solving, and decision making.

Key Terms

Proximal

Located close to a reference point.

distal

Located far from a reference point.

Researchers have debated the traits of a leader for many decades. Early trait theory proposed that merely a few personality traits have the ability to determine the success of a leader. Researchers have since distanced themselves from this idea and theorized that the success of a leader requires more than just a few essential traits. Researchers now attest that while trait theory may still apply, individuals can and do emerge as leaders across a variety of situations and tasks. Research findings show that significant relationships exist between leadership and a number of individual traits, among them intelligence, adjustment, extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy.

One prominent researcher in trait theory, Stephen Zaccaro, proposes a number of models that show the interplay of the environmental and personality characteristics that make a good leader. These models rests on two basic premises about leadership traits. First, leadership emerges from the combined influence of multiple traits, as opposed to coming from various independent traits. In other words, Zaccaro argues that effective leadership is derived from an integrated set of cognitive abilities, social capabilities, and personal tendencies, with each set of traits adding to the influence of the other. The second premise suggests that leadership traits differ in their proximal (direct) influence on leadership. In this multistage model, certain distal or remote attributes (such as personal attributes, cognitive abilities, and motives/values) serve as precursors for the development of personal characteristics that more directly shape a leader.

Some of the inherent leadership traits in Zaccaro’s model include extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, neuroticism, honesty/integrity, charisma, intelligence, creativity, achievement motivation, need for power, oral/written communication, interpersonal skills, general problem-solving, decision making, technical knowledge, and management skills. Although these characteristics may resemble a laundry list of traits, Zaccaro and many other researchers have shown that they are all predictors of a successful leader.

Trait leadership: Zaccaro’s model (2004)

This diagram shows one contemporary theory of the essential traits of a leader. Zaccaro’s theory emphasizes all of the attributes that make up the traits of a leader, including environmental, internal (personality), and cognitive abilities.

9.1.7: Leadership Styles

Learning Objective

Explain how different leadership styles may be adopted according to the demands of a given circumstance

Key Points

• There are five primary leadership styles: engaging, authoritative, laissez-faire, participative, and transformational. All five styles can be effectively used in the appropriate circumstances.
• An engaging style of leadership involves reaching out to employees and understanding their concerns and working situations.
• Under the autocratic leadership style, all decision-making powers are centralized in the leader. Leaders do not entertain any suggestions or initiatives from subordinates.
• A person using a laissez-faire style of leadership does not provide direction, instead leaving the group to fend for itself. Subordinates are given a free hand in deciding their own policies and methods.
• A participative or democratic style of leadership involves the leader’s sharing decision-making authority with group members while also promoting the interests of group members and practicing social equality.
• Transformational leadership motivates and inspires people to change their behaviors in service of a greater good.

Key Term

laissez-faire

French term literally meaning “let [them] do,”; it also broadly implies “let it be,” “let them do as they will,” or “leave it alone.”

Finding the Right Style of Leadership

A leader can take a number of different approaches to leading and managing an organization. A leader’s style of providing direction, setting strategy, and motivating people is the result of his or her personality, values, training, and experience. For example, a leader with a laid-back personality may lead with a less formal style that encourages autonomy and creativity.

Engaging Leadership

Engaging styles of leadership involve reaching out to employees and understanding their concerns and working situations. Dr. Stephen L. Cohen, the senior vice president for Right Management’s Leadership Development Center of Excellence, describes the engaging leadership style as communicating relevant information to employees and involving them in important decisions. This leadership style can help retain employees for the long term.

Engaging leadership

The engaging style of leadership involves leaders reaching out to their constituents and being involved in their successes and struggles.

Autocratic/Authoritarian Leadership

Under the autocratic leadership style, decision-making power is centralized in the leader. Leaders do not entertain any suggestions or initiatives from subordinates. The autocratic management is effective for quick decision making but is generally not successful in fostering employee engagement or maintaining worker satisfaction.

Laissez-faire/Free-Rein Leadership

A person may be in a leadership position without providing clear direction, leaving the group to choose its own path in achieving aims. Subordinates are given a free hand in deciding their own policies and methods. Laissez-faire is most effective when workers have the skills to work independently, are self-motivated, and will be held accountable for results.

Participative or Democratic Leadership

A participative or democratic style of leadership involves the leader’s sharing decision- making authority with group members. This approach values the perspectives and interests of individual group members while also contributing to team cohesion. Participative leadership can help employees feel more invested in decision outcomes and more committed to the choices because they have a say in them.

Transformational Leadership

The transformational leadership style emphasizes motivation and morale to inspire followers to change their behavior in service of a greater good. The concept was initially introduced by James MacGregor Burns. According to Burns, transformational leadership is when “leaders and followers make each other advance to a higher level of morality and motivation.” Researcher Bernard M. Bass used Burns’s ideas to develop his own theory of transformational leadership. Bass clarified the definition to emphasize that transformational leadership is distinguished by the effect it has on followers.

When to Use Different Styles

Different situations call for particular leadership styles. Under intense time constraints, when there is little room to engage in long discussions that seek consensus, a more directive, top-down style may be appropriate. For a highly motivated and cohesive team with a homogeneous level of expertise, a democratic leadership style may be more effective. Similarly, a participative leadership style may be most appropriate for decisions that will require changes in behavior from a large group of people.

Each style of leadership can be effective if matched with the needs of the situation and used by a skilled leader who can adopt a deft approach. The most effective leaders are adept at several styles and able to choose the one most likely to help the organization achieve its objectives.

9.1.8: Four Theories of Leadership

Learning Objective

Discuss differing theories and approaches to defining and understanding leadership

Key Points

• Modern trait theory proposes that individuals emerge as leaders across a variety of situations and tasks; significant individual leadership traits include intelligence, adjustment, extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy.
• Behavioral theory suggests that leadership requires a strong personality with a well-developed positive ego; self-confidence is essential.
• Contingency theory assumes that different situations call for different characteristics, and no single optimal psychological profile of a leader exists.
• According to full-range theory of leadership, four qualities are essential for leaders: individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence.

Key Term

Contingency

Likely to happen in connection with or as a consequence of something else.

For a number of years, researchers have examined leadership to discover how successful leaders are created. Experts have proposed several theories, including the trait, behavioral, contingency, and full-range models of leadership.

The Trait Theory of Leadership

The search for the characteristics or traits of effective leaders has been central to the study of leadership. Underlying this research is the assumption that leadership capabilities are rooted in characteristics possessed by individuals. Research in the field of trait theory has shown significant positive relationships between effective leadership and personality traits such as intelligence, extroversion, conscientiousness, self-efficacy, and openness to experience. These findings also show that individuals emerge as leaders across a variety of situations and tasks.

The Contingency Theory of Leadership

Stogdill and Mann found that while some traits were common across a number of studies, the overall evidence suggested that persons who are leaders in one situation may not necessarily be leaders in other situations. According to this approach, called contingency theory, no single psychological profile or set of enduring traits links directly to effective leadership. Instead, the interaction between those individual traits and the prevailing conditions is what creates effective leadership. In other words, contingency theory proposes that effective leadership is contingent on factors independent of an individual leader. As such, the theory predicts that effective leaders are those whose personal traits match the needs of the situation in which they find themselves. Fiedler’s contingency model of leadership focuses on the interaction of leadership style and the situation (later called situational control). He identified three relevant aspects of the situation: the quality of the leader’s relationships with others, how well structured their tasks were, and the leader’s amount of formal authority.

The Behavioral Theory of Leadership

In response to the early criticisms of the trait approach, theorists began to research leadership as a set of behaviors. They evaluated what successful leaders did, developed a taxonomy of actions, and identified broad patterns that indicated different leadership styles. Behavioral theory also incorporates B.F. Skinner’s theory of behavior modification, which takes into account the effect of reward and punishment on changing behavior. An example of this theory in action is a manager or leader who motivates desired behavior by scolding employees who arrive late to meetings and showing appreciation when they are early or on time.

B.F. Skinner

The father of behavioral theory showed the connection between behaviors and reward and punishment. Today, management often incorporates his findings.

The Full-Range Theory of Leadership

The full-range theory of leadership is a component of transformational leadership, which enhances motivation and morale by connecting the employee’s sense of identity to a project and the collective identity of the organization. The four major components of the theory, which cover the full range of essential qualities of a good leader, are:

• Individualized consideration: the degree to which the leader attends to each follower’s concerns and needs and acts as a mentor or coach
• Intellectual stimulation: the degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks, and solicits followers’ ideas
• Inspirational motivation: the degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to followers
• Idealized influence: the degree to which the leader provides a role model for high ethical behavior, instills pride, and gains respect and trust

9.2: Trait Approach

9.2.1: The Trait-Theory Approach

Understanding the importance of different core personality traits can help organizations select leaders.

Learning Objective

Explain the relevance of the trait approach in defining and promoting useful leadership development in the workplace

Key Points

• According to trait leadership theory, certain integrated patterns of personal characteristics nurture consistent leader effectiveness in a group of people.
• Trait leadership tries to identify inherent attributes and acquired abilities that differentiate leaders from non-leaders.
• The traits of effective leaders can be organized into three groups: demographic, task competence, and interpersonal.
• These leadership traits motivate leaders to perform and achieve goals for the organizations they represent.

Key Term

Trait Leadership

Integrated patterns of personal characteristics that nurture the ability to lead a group of people effectively.

According to trait leadership theory, effective leaders have in common a pattern of personal characteristics that support their ability to mobilize others toward a shared vision. These traits include dimensions of personality and motives, sets of skills and capabilities, and behavior in social relationships. Using traits to explain effective leadership considers both characteristics that are inherited and attributes that are learned. This approach has been used to differentiate leaders from non-leaders. Understanding the importance of these traits can help organizations select, train, and develop leaders.

Leaders’ Traits

Following studies of trait leadership, most leader traits can be organized into four groups:

• Personality: Patterns of behavior, such as adaptability and comfort with ambiguity, and dispositional tendencies, such as motives and values, are associated with effective leadership.
• Demographic: In this category, gender has received by far the most attention in terms of leadership; however, most scholars have found that gender is not a determining demographic trait, as male and female leaders are equally effective.
• Task competence: This relates to how individuals approach the execution and performance of tasks. Hoffman groups intelligence, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and emotional stability into this category.
• Interpersonal attributes:These relate to how a leader approaches social interactions. According to Hoffman and others (2011), traits such as extroversion and agreeableness are included in this category.

Proximal vs. Distal Characteristics

Trait leadership also takes into account the distinction between proximal and distal character traits. Proximal characteristics are traits that are malleable and can be developed over time. These include interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, and communication skills. Distal characteristics are more dispositional; that is, people are born with them. These include traits such as self-confidence, creativity, and charisma. Hoffman and others (2011) found that both types of characteristics are correlated with leader effectiveness, implying that while leaders can be born, they can also be made.

Trait Integration in Effective Leaders

Zaccoro and others (2004) introduced a model of leadership that categorized and specified six types of traits that influence leader effectiveness. The model rests on two basic premises about leadership traits. The first premise states that effective leadership derives not from any one trait, but from an integrated set of cognitive abilities, social capabilities, and dispositional tendencies, with each set of traits adding to the influence of the other. The second premise maintains that the traits differ in how directly they influence leadership. The premise suggests that distal attributes (such as dispositional attributes, cognitive abilities, and motives/values) come first and then lead to the development of proximal characteristics. This model contends the following traits are correlated with strong leadership potential: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, neuroticism, honesty, charisma, intelligence, creativity, achievement motivation, need for power, communication skills, interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, technical knowledge, and management skills.

Zaccaro’s trait integration model of effective leadership

This diagram visually represents Zaccaro’s theory that distal attributes (e.g., cognitive abilities, personality, values) serve as precursors for the development of proximal personal characteristics (e.g. social skills, problem-solving skills), both of which contribute to leadership.

9.2.2: Honesty in Leadership: Kouzes and Posner

Kouzes and Posner identify five behaviors of effective leadership, with honesty essential to each.

Learning Objective

Assess the theoretical framework devised by Kouzes and Posner in relating leadership and honesty from a business perspective

Key Points

• Leadership is a process of motivating people and mobilizing resources to accomplish a common goal.
• Honesty refers to different aspects of moral character. It indicates positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness.
• Honesty is essential to a leader’s legitimacy, credibility, and ability to develop trust with followers.
• Kouzes and Posner identify five behaviors of effective leaders: model the way, inspire vision, enable others, challenge the process, and encourage the heart.
• Effective leaders set strong behavioral examples while expounding upon the company vision to inspire employees to be fulfilled, and honesty is a necessary component of this behavior.

Key Terms

micromanaging

The act of over-supervising or employing too much detail in delegating a task.

Honesty

A facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness, along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft.

Leadership is the ability to motivate people and mobilize resources to accomplish a common goal. In leadership, honesty is an important virtue, as leaders serve as role models for their subordinates. Honesty refers to different aspects of moral character. It indicates positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness. These characteristics create trust, which is critical to leaders in all positions. Honesty also implies the absence of lying, cheating, or theft.

Subordinates have faith in the leaders they follow. A leader who is not honest will lose legitimacy in the eyes of followers. Integrity and openness are essential to developing trust, and without honesty a leader cannot gain and maintain the trust needed to build commitment to a shared vision.

Leadership experts Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner find honesty to be the most important trait of effective leaders. In its absence, leaders lack credibility, and their ability to influence others is diminished. Honesty also brings a degree of transparency to a leader’s interaction with others.

For Kouzes and Posner, honesty is a critical element of the five behaviors of effective leaders.

Five behaviors of effective leaders

This model was created by Kouzes and Posner to emphasize vital leadership practices.

• Model the way: Leaders must clarify their values and set an example for their employees to imitate, underscoring the importance of modeling positive characteristics such as honesty.
• Inspire vision: The vision is the emotional element of a company’s mission statement, and this vision must be communicated honestly and with passion. Promoting the company’s vision allows leaders to inspire employees.
• Enable others to act: Leaders often make the critical mistake of micromanaging, as opposed to trusting others to do their job. Trust stems from honesty, and creating an honest environment allows other employees more personal autonomy.
• Challenge the process: Leaders need to be attentive to how things are done, not just what gets done, and they must be willing to address areas that require change. These practices are essential for continuous improvement, progress toward goals, and innovation.
• Encourage the heart: Leaders must nurture the emotional dimension of their relationships with followers. Showing appreciation, creating a supportive environment, and fostering community sentiment helps build commitment to the leader’s vision.

In summary, leaders are tasked with balancing the organizational strategies of management with the social elements of leading. This requires leaders to be in tune with their employees’ emotions and concerns in a meaningful and honest way. Effective leaders set strong behavioral examples while communicating their vision to inspire employees. The need for honesty is woven throughout the primary activities of effective leaders.

9.2.3: Leadership and Gender

Studies on the role of gender in leadership success show mixed results.

Learning Objective

Discuss the relationship between gender and leadership behavior

Key Points

• Research on leadership differences between men and women shows conflicting results. Some research states that women have a different style of leadership than men, while other studies reveal no major differences in leadership behaviors between the genders.
• Areas of study have included perceptions of leadership, leadership styles, leadership practices, and leadership effectiveness.
• Some studies have found women leaders tend to demonstrate more communication, cooperation, affiliation, and nurturing than men in leadership.
• Male leaders have been shown to be be more goal- and task-oriented and less relationship- and process-focused than women.

Key Terms

leadership

The capacity of someone to lead.

gender

The sociocultural phenomenon of the division of people into categories of male and female, each having associated clothing, roles, stereotypes, etc.

In many areas of society, men have long dominated leadership positions. This dominance was especially apparent in business, where female members of boards of directors and corporate executives had been scarce. Over the past three decades, however, women have entered more leadership positions throughout industry. The trend has provided an opportunity to examine differences in how men and women perform in the role of leaders.

Virginia Rometty, CEO of IBM

As CEO of one of the largest companies in the U.S., Virginia Rometty is in a highly influential and visible leadership role.

Gender Differences in Leadership

Research reveals small but significant differences in the way men and women are perceived in leadership roles, their effectiveness in such positions, and their leadership styles. Studies conducted in the 1980s and early 1990s found that women adopt participative styles of leadership and were more often transformational leaders than men, who more commonly adopted directive, transactional styles. Women in management positions tend to demonstrate the importance of communication, cooperation, affiliation, and nurturing more than do men in the same positions. The studies also showed men as more goal- and task-oriented and less relationship- and process-focused than women.

Conflicting Studies

Nonetheless, studies demonstrating distinct leadership styles between men and woman do not represent the final word. Other research has found limited evidence for significant differences between the behaviors of male and female leaders. In 2011, Anderson and Hanson found differences in decision-making styles, but none linked directly to differences in leadership effectiveness. They found no distinction in types or degree of motivation or in leadership styles overall. Other studies show similar results, challenging the notion that leaders’ sex shapes their performance as a leader. Management guru Rosabeth Moss Kanter studied men and women in a large corporation and found that differences in their behavior resulted not from gender but from organizational factors. In Kanter’s study, men and women, given the same degree of power and opportunity, behaved in similar ways.

9.2.4: The GLOBE Project

The GLOBE Research Project is an international group of social scientists and management scholars who study cross-cultural leadership.

Learning Objective

Outline the nine cultural competences found by the GLOBE project using the six GLOBE dimensions and describe how the project pertains to leadership

Key Points

• GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Project) is an international group of social scientists and management scholars who study cross-cultural leadership.
• This international team collected data from 17,300 middle managers in 951 organizations and grouped 62 countries into ten geographic clusters.
• The research identified nine cultural competencies that distinguish approaches to leadership.
• The research also identified six global dimensions by which to compare and contrast leadership behaviors.

Key Term

GLOBE project

Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness study; refers to research into aspects of cross-cultural leadership behavior.

Under the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) Research Project, an international group of social scientists and management scholars studied cross-cultural leadership. In 1993, Robert J. House founded the project at the University of Pennsylvania. The project looked at 62 societies with different cultures, which were studied by researchers working in their home countries. This international team collected data from 17,300 middle managers in 951 organizations. They used qualitative methods to assist their development of quantitative instruments. The research identified nine cultural competencies and grouped the 62 countries into ten geographic clusters, including Latin American, Nordic European, Sub-Saharan, and Confucian Asian.

The Globe Project

Logo for the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) Project.

Bases for Leadership Comparisons

The GLOBE project identified nine cultural dimensions, called competencies, with which the leadership approaches within geographic clusters can be compared and contrasted:

1. Performance orientation refers to the extent to which an organization or society encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence.
2. Assertiveness orientation is the degree to which individuals in organizations or societies are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in social relationships.
3. Future orientation is the degree to which individuals in organizations or societies engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification.
4. Human orientation is the degree to which individuals in organizations or societies encourage and reward individuals for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous, caring, and kind to others.
5. Collectivism I (institutional collectivism) is the degree to which organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action.
6. Collectivism II (in-group collectivism) is the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families.
7. Gender egalitarianism is the extent to which an organization or a society minimizes gender role differences and gender discrimination.
8. Power distance is the degree to which members of an organization or society expect and agree that power should be unequally shared.
9. Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which members of an organization or society strive to avoid uncertainty by reliance on social norms, rituals, and bureaucratic practices to alleviate the unpredictability of future events.

GLOBE Leadership Dimensions

Following extensive review of the research, GLOBE participants grouped leadership characteristics into six dimensions. Researchers then made recommendations about how dimensions of culture and leadership could distinguish behavior in one country or culture from another.

Known as the six GLOBE dimensions of culturally endorsed implicit leadership, these leadership dimensions include:

1. Charismatic or value-based: Characterized by integrity and decisiveness; performance-oriented by appearing visionary, inspirational, and self-sacrificing; can also be toxic and allow for autocratic commanding.
2. Team-oriented: Characterized by diplomacy, administrative competence, team collaboration, and integration.
3. Self-protective: Characterized by self-centeredness, face-saving, and procedural behavior capable of inducing conflict when necessary, while being conscious of status.
4. Participative: Characterized by non-autocratic behavior that encourages involvement and engagement and that is supportive of those who are being led.
5. Human orientation: Characterized by modesty and compassion for others in an altruistic fashion.
6. Autonomous: Characterized by ability to function without constant consultation.

9.3: Behavioral Approach

9.3.1: Leadership Model: University of Michigan

The Michigan behavioral studies are an important link in the ongoing development of behavioral theory in a leadership framework.

Learning Objective

Discuss the Michigan Leadership Studies generated in the 1950s and 1960s in the broader context of behavioral approaches to leadership

Key Points

• The Michigan Leadership Studies of the 1950s and 1960s researched behavioral approaches and identification of leader relationships and group processes.
• The Michigan Leadership Studies classified leaders as either “employee-centered” or “job-centered”.
• These studies identified three critical characteristics of effective leaders: task-oriented behavior, relationship-oriented behavior, and participative leadership.

Key Term

theory

A coherent statement or set of ideas that explains observations or phenomena or that sets out the laws and principles of something known or observed; a hypothesis confirmed by observation, experiment.

The recognition of leaders and the development of leadership theory have evolved over centuries. Individual ideas, actions, and behaviors have been identified as indicating leadership within societal structures. This theoretical evolution has progressed over time, from identifying individual personalities or characteristics to formal studies related to what constitutes leadership and why leadership is or is not successful. Some of these studies and observations have been informal, while others have included empirical research and data.

Studies of individual leadership styles and behaviors continue to contribute to understanding what it takes to be an effective leader, one who is attuned to the needs of an organization and those it serves. Much of the evolution in the study of leadership behavior has become more connected not only to people within an organization, but also extended to those outside the organization. This extension acknowledges that an understanding of the values, beliefs, and norms of those shaping the organization have a definite effect on the evolution and growth of the organization as a whole, as well as its ultimate impact on the community and people it serves.

A Brief History of Leadership Research

Rost (1991) writes that in the 20th century, over 200 definitions for leadership were proposed. Leadership research continues as scholars observe, identify, and promote the emergence of new leadership styles and behaviors in the 21st century. A multitude of approaches have been used to identify and explain the complex factors that shape leadership and how it is practiced. These approaches include quantitative methods such as surveys, questionnaires, and diagnostic tests, as well as qualitative observational and ethnographic studies. These theories evaluate the relationship of the leader to organizational members and examine styles of leadership, adding to the general knowledge of leader behavior and effectiveness.

A group of leaders receiving recognition for their service.

These people are all leaders.

Michigan Leadership Studies in the 1950s and 1960s

As a leading center of social science research, the University of Michigan has produced some of the most important studies of leadership. Studies dating back to the 1950s identified two broad leadership styles: an employee orientation and a production orientation. The studies also identified three critical characteristics of effective leaders: task-oriented behavior, relationship-oriented behavior, and participative leadership. The studies concluded that an employee orientation rather than a production orientation, coupled with general instead of close supervision, led to better results. The Michigan leadership studies, along with the Ohio State University studies that took place in the 1940s, are two of the best-known behavioral leadership studies and continue to be cited to this day.

9.3.2: Leadership Model: The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University Leadership Study focused on identifying behaviors (as opposed to traits) that were indicative of a strong leader.

Learning Objective

Distill the key people-oriented and task-oriented behaviors of effective leaders

Key Points

• The core characteristics, behaviors, situations and traits that define good leaders area constant sources of study, analysis, and debate.
• Traditionally, leadership was defined from a trait-oriented perspective. In other words, certain characteristics were identified at the individual level to determine good leaders.
• The Ohio State University Leadership Study underscores two different behavioral views on leadership: people-oriented (consideration) and task-oriented (initiating structure).

Key Term

delegation

The act of assigning tasks to other members of the team.

Overview of Leadership

Leadership is a field of study (and core ability) that focuses on the ability of an individual or group to “lead” or guide other teams, people, or even entire organizations. The evolution of the field of leadership is quite extensive, ranging from the following perspectives:

• Trait theories
• Attribute patterns
• Behavioral and style theories
• Situational and contingency theories
• Functional theories
• Integrated psychological theories
• Transactional and transformative theories
• Leader-member exchange theories
• Emotional intelligence

Each of these schools of thought are facets of what modern leadership theories try to take into account today, as varying perspectives on leadership are useful to take into consideration the complex, global world of organizations.

Leadership Grid

One perspective on leadership is balancing the well-being of the people who work for you with the efficiency of task completion, as illustrated in this simple chart. The Ohio State Leadership Studies touched upon this concept.

One perspective on leadership is balancing the well-being of the people who work for you with the efficiency of task completion, as illustrated in this simple chart.

Early Leadership Research

Early methods of research theory centered around trait theories. The basic premise was that certain characteristics of individuals were the ideal indicator of success in a leadership role. In other words, for example, extroverted individuals with a highly developed sense of empathy, confidence, and decisiveness would make good leaders. As you may already be thinking, this perspective on leadership is somewhat limiting, as there are various external factors and situational considerations one should consider when determining if a given individual is a strong fit for leading a specific initiative or organization.

The Ohio State University Leadership Study

While the concept of identifying good leaders based upon individual characteristics had some merit (which has been identified in later research), the Ohio State Leadership study was more interested in which specific behaviors effective leaders executed (compared to ineffective leaders). This consideration and initiating structure of behavior yielded a number of interesting results.

Method

A survey with 150 statements (narrowed down from nearly 2000 potential statements), which was titled the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire, was delivered to leaders to identify what types of behaviors were most effective in leading. Nine specific behaviors were identified and measured.

Conclusions

The results of this questionnaire identified two different groupings of four behaviors within the subtopics of consideration and initiating structure.

Consideration

Consideration is the extent to which a leader exhibits concern for the welfare of the members of the group.

With a focus on interpersonal relationships, mutual trust and friendship, the consideration leadership style is people-oriented. This focuses primarily on:

• Being friendly and approachable
• Maintaining equality between leaders, team members, and stakeholders
• Ensuring the personal welfare of group members
• Being accessible to group members

Initiating Structure

The second behavioral element the study identified revolves around roles, objectives, activities, planning, and delegation. Unlike the people-oriented style above, this is a task-oriented perspective that focuses on behaviors such as:

• Setting individual expectations
• Maintaining performance standards
• Scheduling and planning tasks
• Ensuring the group maintains organizational expectations

9.4: Contingency Approach

9.4.1: Leadership and Situational Context: Fiedler

The Fiedler model shows that effective leadership depends on how a leader’s traits and the surrounding context interact.

Learning Objective

Assess the value and efficacy of Fred Fiedler’s leadership model

Key Points

• Situational contingency attests that different circumstances require different leadership traits.
• The Fieldler model uses the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) test to measure leadership traits.
• A favorable situation for a leader has three components: good relations between the leader and follower, a highly structured task, and a powerful leadership position.

Key Terms

Situational Contingency

The theory that different leaders and leadership traits are required for different situations.

Favorable Situation

Leadership contexts with good leader-member relations, high task structure, and high leader-position power.

Fred Fiedler’s model of leadership states that different types of leaders are required for different situations. This situational contingency understanding of leaderships suggests, for instance, that a leader in a strict, task-oriented workplace would have different qualities than a leader in a more open, idea-driven workplace. Fiedler subsequently enhanced his original model to increase the number of leadership traits it analyzed. This later theory, known as Cognitive Resource Theory (CRT), identifies the conditions under which leaders and group members will use their intellectual resources, skills, and knowledge effectively.

Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Test

The Fiedler situational contingency model measures leadership traits with a test that provides a leadership score corresponding to the workplace where the leader would be most suited. The Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) test asks test takers to think of someone they least prefer working with and rate that person from one to eight on a scale of various traits. For example, the taker is asked to rate the co-worker from Unfriendly (1) to Friendly (8), or Guarded (1) to Open (8). The ratings are then averaged. Generally, a higher LPC score means the person being rated is more oriented to human relations, while a lower score means the person is more oriented to tasks.

The LPC test is not actually about the co-worker; it is a profile of the test taker. Test subjects who are more oriented to human relations generally rate their least preferred co-workers higher, and the opposite is true for task-oriented test takers. The LPC test reveals how respondents react to those that with whom they do not like working, and thereby reveals leadership contexts best suited to the test takers’ personality.

Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) test

The Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) test reveals more about the test-taker than about the co-worker or the type of work the tester and co-worker did together.

Situational Context

The Fiedler model also analyzes the situation in which the leader functions. The situation analysis has three components:

1. Leader-member relations – the amount of respect, trust, and confidence between leaders and their followers
2. Task structure – the degree to which group tasks, roles, and processes are specified and formalized
3. Leader position power – the amount of formal authority leaders have based on their role within the group

When good leader-member relations, a highly structured task, and high leader-position power are in place, the situation is considered a “favorable situation.” Fiedler found that low-LPC leaders are more effective in extremely favorable or unfavorable situations, whereas high-LPC leaders perform best in situations with intermediate favorability. Leaders in high positions of power have the ability to distribute resources among their members, meaning they can reward and punish their followers. Leaders with low position power cannot control resources to the same extent as leaders with high position power, and so lack the same degree of situational control. For example, the CEO of a business has high position power, because she is able to increase and reduce the salary that her employees receive. On the other hand, an office worker in this same business has low position power, because although he may be the leader on a new business deal, he cannot control the situation by rewarding or disciplining colleagues with salary changes.

Criticism of the Fielder Model

Fiedler’s contingency theory has drawn criticism because it implies that the only option for a mismatch of leader orientation and unfavorable situation is to change the leader. Some have disputed the model’s validity by questioning how accurately it reflects a leader’s personality traits. Also, the contingency model does not take into account the percentage of situations that might be somewhat favorable, completely unfavorable, or even extremely favorable. For this reason, critics of the model suggest that it does not provide a complete comparison between low-LPC leaders and high-LPC leaders.

9.4.2: Leadership and Followers: Hersey and Blanchard

Hersey and Blanchard’s model defines effective leadership based on leadership style and maturity of follower(s).

Learning Objective

Compare and contrast leadership style characteristics with the follower maturity concepts as defined by Hersey and Blanchard

Key Points

• The ideal leadership style varies based on what is required of a group and that group’s level of development. The Hersey and Blanchard model measures this by categorizing leadership style and group (follower) maturity.
• Leadership styles are a mix of task behavior and relationship behavior. There are four combinations of high and low task and relationship behaviors that imply different leadership roles.
• Group maturity describes how confident group members are in the group’s ability to complete its tasks.

Key Terms

Relationship Behavior

The style of leadership that is concerned with guiding how people interact, instead of the mechanics of how they complete the task.

Situational Leadership

The theory that different leadership styles are required for different contexts.

Task Behavior

The style of leadership that is concerned with instructing followers what actions to take.

Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard introduced their theory of situational leadership in the 1969 book Management of Organizational Behavior. Situational leadership states that there is no single, ideal approach to leadership because different types of leadership are required in different contexts. The Hersey and Blanchard model explains effective leadership in terms of two variables: leadership style and the maturity of the follower(s).

Task Behavior and Relationship Behavior

For Hersey and Blanchard, leadership style is determined by the mix of task behavior and relationship behavior that the leader shows. Task behavior concerns the actions required of followers and how they should be conducted. Relationship behavior concerns how people interact together to achieve a goal. The various combinations of high and low task and relationship behaviors suggest four leadership roles:

1. S1 – Telling: The leader’s role is to direct the actions of the followers. The leader instructs the followers on how, what, where, and when to do a certain task. This is primarily task behavior.
2. S2 – Selling: The leader is still primarily concerned with directing action but now accepts communication from followers. This communication allows the followers to feel connected to the task and buy into the mission. S2 leading is still primarily task behavior, but now it includes some relationship behavior.
3. S3 – Participating: This role is similar to S2, except now the leader welcomes shared decision-making. Participating leadership shifts the balance toward relationship behavior and away from task behavior.
4. S4 – Delegating: The leader simply ensures that progress is being made. Decisions involve a lot of input from the followers, and the process and responsibility now lie with followers. S4 is primarily relationship behavior.

Maturity

The other fundamental concept in the Hersey and Blanchard model is maturity of the group. Group maturity describes how confident group members are in the group’s ability to complete its tasks. This concept, too, is broken into four categories:

Maturity levels

In Hersey and Blanchard’s model, group maturity is divided into four distinct categories based on how able and willing the group is to complete the job.

1. M1: The group does not have the skills to do the job, and is unwilling or unable to take responsibility. This is a very low maturity level.
2. M2: The group is willing to work on the job but not yet able to accept responsibility. Imagine a group of volunteers working on a house for Habitat for Humanity: the volunteers are willing to perform the work, but probably not capable of building a house on their own.
3. M3: The group has experience but is not confident enough or willing to take responsibility. The main difference between M2 and M3 is that the M3 group has the skills to work effectively on the job.
4. M4: The group is willing and able to work on the job. Group members have all of the skills, confidence, and enthusiasm necessary to take ownership of the task. This is a very high level of maturity.

Because maturity level varies based on the group and the task (for example, professional football players are an M4 group on the football field, but an M1 group if asked to play baseball), the leadership style must adapt based on the situation.

Effective leadership varies not only with the person or group that is being influenced but also depending on the task, job, or function that needs to be accomplished. The Hersey and Blanchard model encourages leaders to be flexible and find the right style for the task and the group maturity level. The most successful leaders are those who adapt their leadership style to the maturity of the group they are attempting to lead or influence and to that group’s purpose.

9.4.3: Leadership and Task/Follower Characteristics: House

The Path-Goal theory argues that a leader’s role is to help followers achieve both personal and organizational goals.

Learning Objective

Identify the leadership and task/follower characteristics identified by Robert House in the Path-Goal theory (1971)

Key Points

• In the Path-Goal model as defined by House, the role of the leader is to help followers define personal goals, understand organizational goals, and find a path to reach both.
• House defined four leadership styles: directive, achievement-oriented, participative, and supportive.
• Outstanding Leadership Theory is an extension of the Path-Goal model that adds leadership behaviors required to channel follower motivations and goals toward the leader’s vision.

Key Terms

Outstanding Leadership Theory

A model that defines ten traits that exceptional leaders possess; an expansion of the Path-Goal model.

Path-Goal theory

A leadership model outlining the role of the leader as helping followers define personal and organizational goals and find a path to reach those goals.

In 1971, Robert House introduced his version of a contingent theory of leadership known as the Path-Goal theory. According to House’s theory, leaders’ behavior is contingent upon the satisfaction, motivation, and performance of their subordinates. House argued that the goal of the leader is to help followers identify their personal goals as well understand the organization’s goals and find the path that will best help them achieve both. Because individual motivations and goals differ, leaders must modify their approach to fit the situation.

Leadership Styles

House defined four different leadership styles and noted that good leaders switch fluidly between them as the situation demands. He believed that leadership styles do not define types of leaders as much as they do types of behaviors. House’s leadership styles include:

1. Directive, path-goal clarifying leader: The leader clearly defines what is expected of followers and tells them how to perform their tasks. The theory argues that this behavior has the most positive effect when the subordinates’ role and task demands are ambiguous and intrinsically satisfying.
2. Achievement-oriented leader: The leader sets challenging goals for followers, expects them to perform at their highest level, and shows confidence in their ability to meet this expectation. Occupations in which the achievement motive was most predominant were technical jobs, salespersons, scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs.
3. Participative leader: The leader seeks to collaborate with followers and involve them in the decision-making process. This behavior is dominant when subordinates are highly personally involved in their work.
4. Supportive leader: The main role of the leader is to be responsive to the emotional and psychological needs of followers. This behavior is especially needed in situations in which tasks or relationships are psychologically or physically distressing.

The Path-Goal model emphasizes the importance of the leader’s ability to interpret follower’s needs accurately and to respond flexibly to the requirements of a situation.

Outstanding Leadership Theory (OLT)

In 1994, House published Organizational Behavior: The State of the Science with Philip Podsakoff. House and Podsakoff attempted to summarize the behaviors and approaches of “outstanding leaders” that they obtained from some more modern theories and research findings. Using the Path-Goal model as a framework, their Outstanding Leadership Theory (OLT) expanded the list of leadership behaviors required to channel follower’s motivations and goals more effectively toward the leader’s vision:

• Vision: Leaders are able to communicate a vision that meshes with the values of their followers.
• Passion and self-sacrifice: Leaders believe fully in their vision and are willing to make sacrifices in order to achieve it.
• Confidence, determination, and persistence: Leaders are confident their vision is correct and take whatever action is necessary to reach it.
• Image-building: Leaders are cognizant of how they are perceived by their followers. They strive to ensure followers view them in a positive light.
• Role-modeling: Leaders seek to model qualities such as credibility and trustworthiness that their followers would seek to emulate.
• External representation: Leaders are spokespersons for their organizations (for example, Steve Jobs).
• Expectations of and confidence in followers: Leaders trust that their followers can succeed and expect them to do so.
• Selective motive-arousal: Leaders are able to hone in on specific motives in followers and use them to push their followers to reach a goal.
• Frame alignment: Leaders align certain interests, values, actions, etc. between leadership and followers to inspire positive action.
• Inspirational communication: Leaders are able to inspire followers to act using verbal and non-verbal communication.

9.4.4: Leadership and Decision Making: The Vroom-Yetton-Jago Model

The Vroom-Yetton-Jago model is a leadership theory of how to make group decisions.

Learning Objective

Apply the Vroom-Jago decision-tree model to guide leaders in a decision-making situation

Key Points

• Different tasks and situations require leaders to make different types of decisions.
• There are five different approaches to making group decisions according to the degree and type of follower participation.
• The Vroom-Yetton-Jago model employs a decision tree for determining the right mode of decision making under different conditions.

Key Terms

Contingency Approach

A school of thought on leadership that proposes that there is no single ideal leader or leadership style. Also known as situational leadership.

decision tree

A visualization of a complex decision-making situation in which the possible choices and their likely outcomes are organized in the form of a graph.

autocratic 

Conducted alone and with sole responsibility.

The Vroom-Yetton-Jago model is a contingency approach to group decision making that is designed specifically to help leaders select the best approach to making decisions. The model identifies different ways a decision can be made by considering the degree of follower participation. It proposes a method for leaders to select the right approach to making a decision in a given set of circumstances.

Decision Types

The Vroom-Yetton-Jago model defines five different decision approaches that a leader can use. In order of participation from least to most, these are:

1. AI – Autocratic Type 1: Decisions are made completely by the leader. Leaders make the decision on their own with whatever information is available.
2. AII – Autocratic Type 2: The decision is still made by the leader alone, but the leader collects information from the followers. Followers play no other role in the decision-making process.
3. CI – Consultative Type 1: The leader seeks input from select followers individually based on their relevant knowledge. Followers do not meet each other, and the leader’s decision may or may not reflect followers’ influence.
4. CII – Consultative Type 2: Similar to CI, except the leader shares the problem with relevant followers as a group and seeks their ideas and suggestions. The followers are involved in the decision, but the leader still makes the decision.
5. GII – Group-based Type 2: The entire group works through the problem with the leader. A decision is made by the followers in collaboration with the leader. In a GII decision, leaders are not at liberty to make a decision on their own.

Decision Trees

The Vroom-Yetton-Jago model also provides guidance for leaders trying to determine which approach to decision making to use (AI through GII). The model uses a decision-tree technique to diagnose aspects of the situation methodically. This technique involves answering a series of yes or no questions and following the yes path to the recommended type of decision-making approach.

Decision tree

This is an example of a decision tree. One decition (go on vacation) leads to further decisions (whether to go to Europe, visit family, or go camping), all of which lead to another tier of decisions. The Vroom-Yetton-Jago model utilizes decision trees to determine the best leadership style for a given situation.

1. Is there a quality requirement? Is the nature of the solution critical? Are there technical or rational grounds for selecting among possible solutions?
2. Do I have sufficient information to make a high-quality decision?
3. Is the problem structured? Are the alternative courses of action and methods for their evaluation known?
4. Is acceptance of the decision by subordinates critical to its implementation?
5. If I were to make the decision by myself, is it reasonably certain that it would be accepted by my subordinates?
6. Do my subordinates share the organizational goals to be met by solving this problem?
7. Is conflict among subordinates likely in obtaining the preferred solution?

By answering the questions honestly, the decision tree provides the leader with the preferred decision style for the given situation.

9.5: Types of Leaders

9.5.1: Transactional Versus Transformational Leaders

Transactional leaders are concerned about the status quo, while transformational leaders are more change-oriented.

Learning Objective

Differentiate between transactional leaders and transformational leaders in a full-range approach, particularly from a behavioral perspective

Key Points

• Transactional leadership works within set established goals and organizational boundaries, while a transformational approach challenges the status quo and is more future-oriented.
• Transactional leadership emphasizes organization, performance evaluation and rewards, and is task- and outcome-oriented.
• Transformational leadership focuses on motivating and engaging followers with a vision of the future.

Key Term

Buy-in

In management and decision making, the commitment of interested or affected parties (often called stakeholders) to agree to support a decision, often by having been involved in its formulation.

Leadership can be described as transactional or transformational. Transactional leaders focuses on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance. They are concerned about the status quo and day-to-day progress toward goals. Transformational leaders work to enhance the motivation and engagement of followers by directing their behavior toward a shared vision. While transactional leadership operates within existing boundaries of processes, structures, and goals, transformational leadership challenges the current state and is change-oriented.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership promotes compliance with existing organizational goals and performance expectations through supervision and the use of rewards and punishments. Transactional leaders are task- and outcome-oriented. Especially effective under strict time and resource constraints and in highly-specified projects, this approach adheres to the status quo and employs a form of management that pays close attention to how employees perform their tasks.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership focuses on increasing employee motivation and engagement and attempts to link employees’ sense of self with organizational values. This leadership style emphasizes leading by example, so followers can identify with the leader’s vision and values. A transformational approach focuses on individual strengths and weaknesses of employees and on enhancing their capabilities and their commitment to organizational goals, often by seeking their buy-in for decisions.

Comparing Leadership Types

Transactional and transformational leadership exhibit five key differences:

1. Transactional leadership reacts to problems as they arise, whereas transformational leadership is more likely to address issues before they become problematic.
2. Transactional leaders work within existing an organizational culture, while transformational leaders emphasize new ideas and thereby “transform” organizational culture.
3. Transactional leaders reward and punish in traditional ways according to organizational standards; transformational leaders attempt to achieve positive results from employees by keeping them invested in projects, leading to an internal, high-order reward system.
4. Transactional leaders appeal to the self-interest of employees who seek out rewards for themselves, in contrast to transformational leaders, who appeal to group interests and notions of organizational success.
5. Transactional leadership is more akin to the common notions of management, whereas transformational leadership adheres more closely to what is colloquially referred to as leadership.

9.5.2: Key Behaviors of Transactional Leaders

Transactional leaders focus on performance, promote success with rewards and punishments, and maintain compliance with organizational norms.

Learning Objective

Identify the different behaviors attributed to transactional leaders and how they can motivate an organization

Key Points

• Transactional leaders focus on managing and supervising their employees and on group performance. They monitor their employees’ work carefully to assess any deviation from expected standards.
• Transactional leaders promote success by doling out both rewards and punishments contingent on performance.
• Transactional leaders work within existing organizational structures and shape their work according to the current organizational culture.

Key Term

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A psychological theory, proposed by Abraham Maslow in the 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation,” which depicts lower- and higher-level human needs in the form of a pyramid.

Transactional leaders focus on managing and supervising their employees and on facilitating group performance. The role of a transactional leader is primarily passive, in that it sets policy and assessment criteria and then intervenes only in the event of performance problems or needs for exceptions. Transactional leaders seek to maintain compliance within existing goals and expectations and the current organizational culture. They are extrinsic motivators who encourage success through the use of rewards and punishment.

Benchmarking Measures Performance

Results are the paramount concern to a transactional leader. Performance ratings can be used to measure results.

Transactional leaders are expected to do the following:

• Set goals and provide explicit guidance regarding what they expect from organizational members and how they will be rewarded for their efforts and commitment
• Provide constructive feedback on performance
• Focus on increasing the efficiency of established routines and procedures and show concern for following existing rules rather than making changes
• Establish and standardize practices that will help the organization become efficient and productive
• Respond to deviations from expected outcomes and identify corrective actions to improve performance

Psychologist Abraham Maslow characterized people’s motivating factors in terms of needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs describes levels of needs ranging from the most essential, such as physiological (e.g., food and sleep) and safety, to higher levels of esteem and self-actualization. Transactional leadership satisfies lower-level needs but addresses those at a high level only to a limited degree. As such, transactional leaders’ behavior appeals to only a portion of followers’ motivating factors.

Transactional leadership can be very effective in the right settings. Coaches of sports teams are a good example of appropriate transactional leadership. The rules for a sports team allow for little flexibility, and adherence to organizational norms is key; even so, effective coaches can motivate their team members to play and win, even at risk to themselves.

9.5.3: Key Behaviors of Transformational Leaders

Transformational leaders exhibit individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence.

Learning Objective

Explain the varying approaches and behaviors that define transformational leadership

Key Points

• Transformational leaders show individualized consideration to followers by paying attention to and meeting the needs of followers.
• Transformational leaders stimulate ideas and creativity from followers by creating a safe environment to challenge the status quo.
• Transformational leaders have a vision that inspires and motivates followers to achieve important goals.
• Transformational leaders serve as role models for their followers, allow them to identify with a shared organizational vision, and provide a sense of meaning and achievement.

Key Term

Transformational Leadership

An approach to leading that enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms.

Transformational leaders challenge followers with an attractive vision and tie that vision to a strategy for its achievement. They engage and motivate followers to identify with the organization’s goals and values. Transformational leadership comprises four types of behavior:

Leading the team

Transformational leaders inspire their employees to do more.

• Individualized consideration or compassionate leadership
• Intellectual stimulation
• Inspirational motivation
• Idealized influence or charismatic leadership

Individualized Consideration

Individualized consideration is the degree to which the leader attends to each follower’s needs, acts as a mentor or coach to the follower, and listens to the follower’s concerns. This behavior can include the following actions:

• Discussing and empathizing with the needs of individual employees
• Making interpersonal connections with employees
• Showing genuine compassion
• Encouraging ongoing professional development and personal growth of employees

Intellectual Stimulation

Transformational leaders encourage followers to be innovative and creative. Intellectual stimulation springs from leaders who establish safe conditions for experimentation and sharing ideas. They tackle old problems in a novel fashion and inspire employees to think about their conventional methods critically and share new ideas. This type of behavior includes:

• Encouraging employees’ creativity
• Challenging the status quo
• Aiming for consistent innovation
• Empowering employees to disagree with leadership
• Risk-taking when appropriate to achieve goals

Inspirational Motivation

Leaders with an inspiring vision challenge followers to leave their comfort zones, communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand. Purpose and meaning provide the energy that drives a group forward. The visionary aspects of leadership are supported by communication skills that make the vision understandable, precise, powerful, and engaging. Followers are willing to invest more effort in their tasks; they are encouraged and optimistic about the future and believe in their abilities. Behaviors that demonstrate inspirational motivation include:

• Inspiring employees to improve their outcomes
• Explaining how the organization will change over time
• Fostering a strong sense of purpose among employees
• Linking individual employee and organizational goals
• Aiding employees to succeed to an even greater extent than they expect

Idealized Influence

Transformational leaders act as role models for their followers. Transformational leaders must embody the values that the followers should be learning and internalizing. The foundation of transformational leadership is the promotion of consistent vision and values. Transformational leaders guide followers by providing them with a sense of meaning and challenge. They foster the spirit of teamwork and commitment in the following ways:

• Promoting a broad, inclusive vision
• Leading by example
• Showing strong commitment to goals
• Creating trust and confidence in employees
• Representing organizational goals, culture, and mission

9.5.4: A Blended Approach to Leadership

The full-range leadership theory blends the features of transactional and transformational leadership into one comprehensive approach.

Learning Objective

Assess the intrinsic value of blending transactional leadership behaviors with transformational leadership behaviors

Key Points

• Transactional and transformational leadership are not mutually exclusive, and leaders often demonstrate traits associated with both approaches.
• The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire is used in diagnosing leadership styles and for developing leadership.
• Leaders use elements of transformational and transactional leadership as the situation calls for them.

Key Terms

Transactional Leadership

A theory of leading that focuses on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance; leader promotes compliance through rewards and punishments. Also known as managerial leadership.

Transformational Leadership

A theory of leading that enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms.

The full-range theory of leadership seeks to blend the best aspects of transactional and transformational leadership into one comprehensive approach. Transactional leadership focuses on exchanges between leaders and followers. Transformational leadership deals with how leaders help followers go beyond individual interests to pursue a shared vision. These two approaches are neither mutually exclusive, nor do leaders necessarily exhibit only one or the other set of behaviors. Depending on the objectives and the situation, a leader may move from using one approach to the other as needed.

Management researcher Bernard Bass developed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), consisting of 36 items that reflect the leadership aspects associated with both approaches. The MLQ also includes several characteristics of a more passive leadership approach known as laissez-faire. Respondents are asked to think about a leader they work with and to rate how frequently the individual exhibits the leadership behaviors. The MLQ is used to help leaders discover how their followers perceive their behaviors, so they can develop their leadership abilities. The questionnaire is most effective with eight to twelve respondents, as this feedback gives leaders a broad set of perspectives from the people who interact with them.

9.6: Other Leadership Perspectives

9.6.1: Emotional Leadership

Emotional leadership is a process that leaders use to influence their followers to pursue a common goal.

Key Points

• As leadership is all about influencing people to achieve a common goal, an “emotional” approach can be a very important step of the process.
• Leaders in a positive mood can affect their group in a positive way, and vice versa. Charismatic leaders can transmit their emotions and thereby influence followers through the mechanism of “emotional contagion”.
• Group affective tone refers to mood at the group level of analysis. Groups with leaders in a positive mood have a more positive affective tone than groups with leaders in a negative mood. Group processes like coordination, effort expenditure, and task strategy also affect followers.
• Public expressions of mood influence how group members think and act relative to other group members. Group members respond to those signals cognitively and behaviorally in ways that are reflected in the group processes.
• Strong emotional leadership depends on having high levels of emotional intelligence (EI).

Key Terms

Emotional Leadership

Emotional leadership is a process that leaders use to influence their followers in a common goal.

emotional intelligence

the ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups

Leadership is a process of motivating people and mobilizing resources to accomplish common goals. Leaders direct the path to achieve the goal and lead the group to accomplish objectives along the way. The leader may or may not have formal authority. According to the trait theory of leadership, some traits play a vital role in creating leaders, such as intelligence, adjustment, extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy. One key aspect of contemporary leadership theory points to emotional leadership as a possible approach to accomplishing organizational aims.

Defining Emotional Leadership

As leadership is all about influencing people to achieve a common goal, an “emotional” approach can be a very important step of the process. A leader’s mood or emotions have an effect on the group in three major ways:

1. Leaders can influence followers through the mechanism of “emotional contagion.” Those in an optimistic mood can effect their group in a positive way by instilling a positive outlook. For example, a charismatic leader can inspire feelings of confidence in a group’s ability to achieve challenging goals.
2. Group affective tone refers to the collective mood of individuals. Groups with leaders in a positive mood have more positive feelings toward each other than groups with leaders who convey the opposite. The perceived efficacy of group processes such as coordination, collaborative effort, and task strategy can also effect the emotions of followers.
3. Public expressions of mood affect how group members think and act in relation to other group members. For example, demonstrating positive emotions such as happiness or satisfaction can signal that leaders acknowledge solid progress toward goals. Those signals influence how followers think about their work, which can benefit their work together.

Emotional Intelligence

Strong emotional leadership depends on having high levels of emotional intelligence (EI). EI is the ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. The two most prominent approaches to understanding EI are the ability and trait EI models.

The EI ability model views emotions as useful sources of information that help a person make sense of and navigate the social environment. The model proposes that individuals vary in their ability to process information of an emotional nature and in their ability to connect those emotions to how they think. There are four key emotional skills—perceiving, using, understanding, and managing:

1. Perceiving emotions – The ability to detect and decipher emotions in faces, pictures, voices, and cultural artifacts—including one’s own emotions. Perceiving emotions represents a basic aspect of emotional intelligence, as it makes all other processing of emotional information possible.
2. Using emotions – The ability to harness emotions to facilitate various cognitive activities, such as thinking and problem-solving. Emotionally intelligent people can capitalize fully upon their changing moods according to the task at hand.
3. Understanding emotions – The ability to comprehend emotional language and to appreciate complicated relationships among emotions. For example, understanding emotions encompasses the ability to be sensitive to slight variations between emotions, as well as the ability to recognize and describe how emotions evolve over time.
4. Managing emotions – The ability to regulate emotions in both ourselves and in others. The emotionally intelligent person can harness emotions—even negative ones—and manage them to achieve intended goals.

Because the EI ability model focuses on behaviors that can be learned, it is used as the basis of leadership development activities.

The EI trait model focuses not on skills but on personality characteristics and behavioral dispositions such as empathy, consideration, and self-awareness. Trait EI refers to individuals’ self-perceptions of their emotional abilities. It is measured by looking at degrees of emotional well-being, self-control, emotionalism, and sociability. EI traits can be challenging to assess accurately because they rely on self-reporting, rather than observations of actual behaviors. Personality traits are generally believed to be resistant to significant change, so the EI trait model is used to help people better manage their emotional abilities within the constraints of existing behavioral tendencies.

President Barack Obama

Many observers identify President Obama as a good example of an emotional leader.

9.6.2: Interactive Leadership

Interactive leadership involves leaders’ engaging followers to increase their understanding of tasks and goals.

Learning Objective

Explain the importance of interactive leadership in generating motivation and commitment to shared objectives

Key Points

• Interactive leaders engage followers in understanding goals and tasks to contribute more effectively to achieving them.
• Reaching out to employees and helping them understand different aspects of the organization serve to engage them in the organization’s goals.
• Interactive leaders demonstrate their willingness to engage others in a variety of ways, including group decision making, building trust through openness and transparency, and being visible and accessible to followers.

Key Term

Interactive Leadership

Style of leading that engages employees in understanding tasks and goals so they can be effective contributors to achieving them.

Effective leadership requires communicating and engaging with followers. The interactive style of leadership makes it a priority to inform followers about important matters related to their goals and tasks and to clarify understanding. Interactive leaders are proactive in seeking information and opinions from followers. Reaching out to employees in this way helps build their commitment to achieving team and organizational goals.

Interactive leaders take the opportunity to meet with followers to explain their vision and persuade them of its value. This encounter facilitates behavior change; the better people understand what is expected of them, the more they can modify how they act. While interactive leaders may make use of technology to share information, they also seek the richer exchanges that face-to-face communication allows.

Examples of Interactive Leadership

Interactive leaders engage followers in a variety of ways. When making group decisions they may solicit information, perceptions, and even recommendations from team members. To underscore a commitment to openness and to build trust, an interactive leader freely shares information rather than keeping it as a basis of power over others.

Interactive leaders value individual contributions and maintain relationships that foster mutual respect. They also make themselves visible and accessible to followers; some maintain an “open-door” policy to signal that they are open to dialogue and hearing from others. In this way, interactive leaders are role models who exhibit the quality of reciprocal interactions they seek with others.

Interactive leadership in action

An interactive leader shares information and answers questions to clarify goals and tasks.

9.6.3: Moral Leadership

Ethical or moral leadership demonstrates responsibility for doing what is right.

Learning Objective

Apply ethical standards to leadership perspectives, explaining the relevance of integrity and responsibility to leadership

Key Points

• Ethical or moral leadership involves leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others.
• The duties of leaders also include the responsibility to ensure standards of moral and ethical conduct.
• An effective leader influences a subordinate’s attitude and values. Therefore, a moral leader will stimulate a moral influence.
• The best leaders make known their values and ethics and reflect them in their leadership styles and actions.

Key Term

moral

Of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior, especially for teaching right behavior.

Moral or ethical leadership involves the commitment to doing what is right according to societal and cultural beliefs and values about acceptable behavior. Ethical leaders distinguish themselves by making decisions in the service of long-term benefits that may be inconvenient, unpopular, and even unprofitable in the short-term. Moral leaders have a clear understanding of their own values and hold themselves accountable for them. Leaders who are ethical demonstrate a level of integrity that emphasizes their trustworthiness, and this trust enables followers to accept the leader’s vision.

Moral leadership means making decisions that respect the rights and dignity of others. Moral leaders consider the viewpoints and needs of all who have an interest in a decision’s outcomes, rather than simply the most powerful. In this way, moral leaders use their own power to convince others of the rightness of their choices.

Nelson Mandela, a respected moral leader

Nelson Mandela, the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, is an example of moral leadership. Mandela fought to end apartheid and establish equality in his country.

Moral leadership is important for protecting an organization’s reputation. The ethics leaders exhibit reflects on their organizations, as well on themselves. Acting ethically preserves an organization’s legitimacy as it uses societal resources to achieve its aims.

Moral leadership goes beyond doing what is legal. Laws establish clear boundaries of what is acceptable, but ethics often involves more ambiguous questions. These dilemmas are where the judgment of a leader comes into play. The personal character of leaders influences their ability and willingness to act on moral principles. Moral leaders gain the respect of followers, who are then more likely to identify with their leaders and the goals they set.

Moral leaders also play an important role in communicating an organization’s values. They do this as role models of ethical behavior and in how they speak about the moral dimension of their decisions and actions. In this way, moral leaders take responsibility for the moral climate in their organizations and help others understand, share, and act in accordance with those values.

9.6.4: Servant Leadership

Servant leadership involves feeling responsible for the world and actively contributing to the well-being of people and communities.

Learning Objective

Define servant leadership using the behaviors and characteristics described by Larry C. Spears

Key Points

• Servant leadership is apparent in leaders who feel a responsibility for the well-being of others and their communities.
• A servant leader looks at what people need, helps them solve problems, and promotes the personal development of others.
• Larry C. Spears identified ten characteristics central to servant leaders: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the personal growth of people, and building communities.

Key Terms

Larry C. Spears

Served as president and CEO of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.

Servant Leadership

An approach to leading in which leaders take responsibility for contributing to the well-being of people and community.

Servant leadership involves taking responsibility for actively contributing to the well-being of people and communities. It begins with a feeling of wanting to work for the benefit of others. A servant leader regards people’s needs and identifies ways to help them to solve problems and promote personal development. Servant leaders focus on the well-being of others and on helping them improve their circumstances.

Characteristics of Servant Leadership

Larry C. Spears identified ten characteristics that are central to servant leadership:

1. Listening: A servant leader solicits information and engages in dialogue with followers to better understand their needs.
2. Empathy: Servant leaders identify with and show concern for the needs of followers. In this way they model respect.
3. Healing: A servant leader is sensitive to and supports the emotional health of others.
4. Awareness: Servant leaders exhibits self-knowledge of their own values, emotions, strengths, and weaknesses.
5. Persuasion: Servant leaders do not take advantage of their power and status by coercing compliance; they try to influence others through reason.
6. Conceptualization: A servant leader thinks beyond day-to-day realities to identify future possibilities.
7. Foresight: A servant leader understands intellectually as well as through intuition how the past, present, and future are connected and uses that knowledge to identify likely outcomes.
8. Stewardship: Servant leaders are mindful that they hold an organization’s resource in trust for the greater good.
9. Commitment to the growth of people: A servant leader is responsible for nurturing others and for their learning and development.
10. Building community: A servant leader builds a sense of unity and cohesion among individuals so they can work together for common goals.

9.6.5: Shared Leadership

Shared leadership means that leadership responsibilities are distributed within a team and that members influence each other.

Learning Objective

Describe shared leadership and the conditions needed for its success

Key Points

• Shared leadership occurs when two or more individuals in a group share responsibility for directing it toward its goals.
• Shared leadership requires team members be willing to extend their feedback to the team in a way that aims to influence and motivate the direction of the group.
• The team must overall be disposed to accept and rely on feedback from other team members.

Key Term

Shared Leadership

Style of leading in which responsibilities are distributed within a team or organization, and people within that team or organization lead each other.

Unlike traditional notions of leadership that focus on the actions of an individual, shared leadership refers to responsibilities shared by members of a group. Rather than having a single designated leader, two or more members of a team with shared leadership influence the others and help drive the team’s performance toward its goals.

While by definition a team’s members share responsibility for group outcomes, shared leadership means they also hold each other accountable for setting the team’s goals and maintaining its direction. Shared leadership can involve all team members simultaneously or distribute leadership responsibilities sequentially over the group’s duration. Leadership roles may be assigned based on expertise and experience.

Requirements of Shared Leadership

Research reveals that for shared leadership to merge and succeed, two conditions must be met:

1. Team members must be willing to extend their feedback to the team in a way that aims to influence and motivate the direction of the group.
2. Team members as a group must be disposed to accept and rely on the feedback of each other.

Three aspects of how a group interacts can facilitate shared leadership: shared purpose, social support, and voice. Shared purpose means team members have a similar understanding of the team’s objective and collective goals. Social support means that team members contribute to each other’s emotional and psychological well-being by offering encouragement and assistance. Voice refers to the degree to which team members believe they have input into how the team carries out its activities. Taken together, these group dynamics can foster a sense of trust and willingness to collaborate in support of team leadership.

Shared leadership also benefits from coaching from a respected person outside of the group. An external coach can provide guidance and advice to the team and also help individuals develop their leadership skills. Through active encouragement and positive reinforcement of team members who demonstrate leadership, coaching can foster independence and a sense of individual self-efficacy. Coaching can also nurture collective commitment to the team and its objectives, increasing the possibility that team members will demonstrate personal initiative.

Team members sharing responsibility

Team members consult each other in a group that employs shared leadership.

9.6.6: E-Leadership

Leaders of virtual teams face challenges communicating and building relationships.

Learning Objective

Discuss the growing importance and technological potential of integrating leadership across chronological and geographical boundaries

Key Points

• E-leadership works across time, space, and organizational boundaries, usually strengthened by communication technology.
• Communication is more difficult on virtual teams, and virtual leaders must emphasize the importance of effective communication to achieving the team’s goals.
• A virtual team leader must be particularly attentive to the development of group norms and the emergence of trust, both of which are made difficult by the geographic separation of team members.

Key Term

E-leadership

Form of leading across time, space, and organizational boundaries, usually supported by networks of communication as well as technology.

Virtual teams are those whose members work across distances of time, space and organizational boundaries. Their interactions are made possible by information and communication technology. Such teams are formed to benefit from different sources of knowledge, to lower costs, or to create flexibility and responsiveness in staffing. By their nature, virtual teams have particular leadership needs.

Leaders of virtual teams face communication challenges. They do not have the benefit of many opportunities for rich, face-to-face interactions. The absence of in-person interaction has at least two consequences. It can take more effort to gather and disseminate information needed to support a group’s performance. It also makes it more difficult for a leader to develop relationships. The lack of social interaction can inhibit trust and group cohesion. The geographic distribution of virtual team members may also involve linguistic or cultural differences that can create barriers to effective communication. To address these communication challenges, e-leaders must communicate more frequently, provide more complete information, and use multiple means of communication technology effectively.

The virtual team leader must also encourage awareness of how group norms are developing. Without regular personal interactions, members may not be aware of how their behavior is perceived by others and how that behavior can affect the team’s performance. The virtual leader must make and share observations about how team members work together and encourage them to be attentive to the process by which they collaborate, rather than focus solely on tasks. Drawing explicit attention to group norms and reinforcing them by being a role model, the virtual leader can help build trust between team members and make them a more effective team.

9.7: Developing Leadership Skills

9.7.1: Developing Leadership Skills

Leadership skills can be learned, and leadership development benefits individuals and organizations.

Learning Objective

Discuss the varying perspectives and models that surround the leadership development field, as well as the importance of leadership development

Key Points

• The success of leadership development efforts has been linked to three variables: individual learner characteristics, the quality and nature of the leadership development program, and opportunities to practice new skills and receive feedback.
• Leadership development can take many forms, including formal training, 360-degree feedback, coaching, and self-directed learning.
• Leadership development refers to any activity that enhances the capability of an individual to assume leadership roles and responsibilities.
• Two recognized models in leadership development include the two-part model developed by McCauley, Van Veslor, and Ruderman and the General Electric model.

Key Terms

leadership development

Any activity that enhances the quality of leadership within an individual or organization.

leadership

The capacity of someone to lead.

Leadership development refers to any activity that enhances the capability of an individual to assume leadership roles and responsibilities. Examples include degree programs in management, executive education, seminars and workshops, and even internships. These types of learning opportunities focus on developing knowledge, skills, self-awareness, and abilities needed to lead effectively.

Just as not all people are born with the ability or desire to play soccer like Zinedine Zidane or sing like Luciano Pavarotti, not all people are born with the ability to lead. Personal traits and behavioral dispositions can help or hinder a person’s leadership effectiveness. While these are difficult to change, leadership is a set of behaviors and practices that can be learned through effort and experience.

Leadership traits

Leadership traits can be broken down into 6 categories: Cognitive Capacities, Dispositional Attributes, Motives/Values, Social Capacities, Problem Solving Skills, Expertise & Knowledge.

Successful leadership development is the result of three things:

1. Individual learner characteristics, including willingness and ability to learn
2. The quality and nature of the leadership development program, including its structure and content
3. Opportunities to practice new skills and receive performance feedback

Methods of Leadership Development

Leader development takes place through multiple mechanisms: formal instruction, developmental job assignments, 360-degree feedback, executive coaching, and self-directed learning. These approaches may occur independently but are more effective in combination.

Formal Training

Organizations often offer formal training programs to their leaders. Traditional styles provide leaders with required knowledge and skills in a particular area using coursework, practice, “overlearning” with rehearsals, and feedback (Kozlowski, 1998). This traditional lecture-based classroom training is useful; however, its limitations include the question of a leader’s ability to transfer the information from a training environment to a work setting.

Developmental Job Assignment

Following formal training, organizations can assign leaders to developmental jobs that target the newly acquired skills. A job that is developmental is one in which leaders learn, undergo personal change, and gain leadership skills resulting from the roles, responsibilities, and tasks involved in that job. Developmental job assignments are one of the most effective forms of leader development. A “stretch” or developmental assignment challenges leaders’ new skills and pushes them out of their comfort zone to operate in a more complex environment, one that involves new elements, problems, and dilemmas to resolve.

360-Degree Feedback

The 360-degree feedback approach is a necessary component of leader development that allows leaders to maximize learning opportunities from their current assignment. It systematically provides leaders with perceptions of their performance from a full circle of viewpoints, including subordinates, peers, superiors, and the leader’s own self-assessment. With information coming from so many different sources, the messages may be contradictory and difficult to interpret. However, when several different sources concur on a similar perspective, whether a strength or weakness, the clarity of the message increases. For this mechanism to be effective, the leader must accept feedback and be open and willing to make changes. Coaching is an effective way to facilitate 360-degree feedback and help effect change using open discussion.

Coaching

Leadership coaching focuses on enhancing the leader’s effectiveness, along with the effectiveness of the team and organization. It involves an intense, one-on-one relationship aimed at imparting important lessons through assessment, challenge, and support. Although the goal of coaching is sometimes to correct a fault, it is used more and more to help already successful leaders move to the next level of increased responsibilities and new and complex challenges. Coaching aims to move leaders toward measurable goals that contribute to individual and organizational growth.

Self-directed Learning

Using self-directed learning, individual leaders teach themselves new skills by selecting areas for development, choosing learning avenues, and identifying resources. This type of development is a self-paced process that aims not only to acquire new skills but also to gain a broader perspective on leadership responsibilities and what it takes to succeed as a leader.

Leadership Development Models

McCauley, Van Veslor, and Ruderman (2010) described a two-part model for developing leaders. The first part identifies three elements that combine to make developmental experiences stronger: assessment, challenge, and support. Assessment lets leaders know where they stand in areas of strengths, current performance level, and developmental needs. Challenging experiences are ones that stretch leaders’ ability to work outside of their comfort zone, develop new skills and abilities, and provide important opportunities to learn. Support—which comes in the form of bosses, co-workers, friends, family, coaches, and mentors—enables leaders to handle the struggle of developing.

The second part of the leader-development model illustrates that the development process involves a variety of developmental experiences and the ability to learn from them. These experiences and the ability to learn also have an impact on each other: leaders with a high ability to learn from experience will seek out developmental experiences, and through these experiences leaders increase their ability to learn.

The leader-development process is rooted in a particular leadership context, which includes elements such as age, culture, economic conditions, population gender, organizational purpose and mission, and business strategy. This environment molds the leader development process. Along with assessment, challenge and support, leadership contexts are important aspects of the leader-development model.

General Electric Model of Leadership Development

Another well-known model of leadership development is used by the General Electric Corporation. Managers with high potential are identified early in their careers. Their development is monitored and planned to include a variety of job placements to develop skills and experience, a rigorous performance-evaluation process, and formal training programs at the corporate leadership center in Crotonville, New York. For top managers, the CEO leads some of the training; the CEO also reviews performance evaluations for high-potential managers during site visits to the various subsidiary divisions.