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Mgmt 371Chapter Seventeen

Managing Leadership and Influence Processes

Much of the slide content was created by Dr, Charlie Cook, Houghton Mifflin, Co.©

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The Nature of Leadership

Process: what leaders actually do. Using noncoercive influence to shape the

group’s or organization’s goals. Motivating others’ behavior toward goals. Helping to define organizational culture.

Property: who leaders are. Characteristics attributed to individuals

perceived to be leaders. Leaders

People who can influence the behaviors of others without having to rely on force.

People who are accepted as leaders by others.

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Kotter’s Distinctions Between Management and Leadership

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The Nature of Leadership (French & Raven) The Five Bases of Power (French & Raven)

Legitimate power is granted through the organizational hierarchy.

Reward power is the power to give or withhold rewards.

Coercive power is the capability to force compliance by means of psychological, emotional, or physical threat.

Referent power is the personal power that accrues to someone based on identification, imitation, loyalty, or charisma.

Expert power is derived from the possession of information or expertise.

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The Nature of Leadership

Using Power Legitimate request

A subordinate’s compliance with a manager’s request because the organization has given the manager the right to make the request.

Instrumental compliance A subordinate complies with a manager’s request to

get the rewards that the manager controls. Coercion

Threatening to fire, punish, or reprimand subordinates if they do not do something.

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The Nature of Leadership

Rational persuasion Convincing subordinates that compliance is in their

own best interest. Personal identification

Using the superior’s referent power over a subordinate to shape his behavior.

Inspirational appeal Influencing a subordinate’s behavior through an

appeal to a set of higher ideals or values (e.g., loyalty).

Information distortion Withholding or distorting information (which may

create an unethical situation) to influence subordinates’ behavior.

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Generic Approaches to Leadership

Leadership Traits Approach (Stogdill) Assumed that a basic set of personal traits that

differentiated leaders from nonleaders could be used to identify leaders and as a tool for predicting who would become leaders.

The trait approach was unsuccessful in establishing empirical relationships between traits and persons regarded as leaders.

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Leadership Behaviors

Michigan Studies (Rensis Likert) Identified two forms of leader behavior

Job-centered behavior Employee-centered behavior The two forms of leader behaviors were

considered to be at opposite ends of the same continuum and similar to (respectively) Likert’s System 1 and System 4 of organizational design.

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Leadership Behaviors (Ohio State Studies) Ohio State Studies

Did not interpret leader behavior as being one-dimensional as did the Michigan State studies.

Identified two basic leadership styles that can be exhibited simultaneously:

Initiating-structure behavior - the degree to which a leader defines and structures his or her role and the roles of the subordinates towards achieving the goals of the group.

Consideration behavior - the degree to which a leader acts in a friendly and supportive manner towards his or her subordinates.

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Leadership Behaviors (Ohio State Studies) Ohio State Studies - Initial assumption of the

research was that leaders who exhibit high levels of both behaviors would be most effective leaders. Subsequent research indicated that:

Employees of supervisors ranked high on initiating structure were high performers, but had low levels of satisfaction and had higher absenteeism.

Employees of supervisors ranked high on consideration had low- performance ratings, but had high levels of satisfaction and had less absenteeism.

Other situational variables make consistent leader behavior predictions difficult.

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The Leadership [Managerial] Grid (Blake & Mouton)

Middle of the Road (5,5) Push for adequate production get work done with minimal disturbances.

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Situational Approaches to Leadership Situational Models of Leader Behavior

Assume that: Appropriate leader behavior varies from one situation

to another. Key situational factors that are interacting to

determine appropriate leader behavior can be identified.

Leadership Continuum (Tannenbaum and Schmidt) Variables influencing the decision-making continuum:

Leader’s characteristics Subordinates’ characteristics Situational characteristics

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Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s Leadership Continuum

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Situational Approaches to Leadership (Fiedler) Contingency (LPC) Theory (Fiedler)

The appropriate style of leadership varies with situational favorableness (from the leader’s viewpoint).

Least preferred coworker (LPC) The measuring scale that asks leaders to describe the

person with whom they are least able to work well. High LPC scale scores indicate a relationship orientation;

low LPC scores indicate a task orientation on the part of the leader.

Contingency variables determining situational favorableness:

Leader-member relations Task structure Position Power

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The Contingency (LPC) Theory of Leadership (Fiedler)

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Situational Approaches to Leadership (Evans & House) Path-Goal Theory (Evans & House)

The primary functions of a leader are: To make valued or desired rewards available in the

workplace To clarify for the subordinate the kinds of behavior that

will lead to goal accomplishment or rewards

Leader Behaviors: Directive leader behavior Supportive leader behavior Participative leader behavior Achievement-oriented leader behavior

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The Path-Goal Framework (Evans & House)

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Situational Approaches to Leadership (Vroom ) Vroom Decision Tree Approach

Attempts to prescribe a leadership style appropriate to a given situation.

Basic Premises: Subordinate participation in decision making depends on

the characteristics of the situation. No one decision-making process is best for all situations. After evaluating problem attributes, a leader can choose a

path on the decision trees that determines the decision style and specifies the amount of employee participation.

Decision significance

Decision Timeliness

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Situational Approaches to Leadership (Vroom ) Vroom Decision Tree Approach

Decision-Making Styles Decide

Consult (individually)

Consult (group)

Facilitate

Delegate

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Vroom’s Time-driven Decision Tree

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Vroom’s Development-driven Decision Tree

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Situational Approaches to Leadership (LMX) The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX)

Approach Stresses the importance of variable

relationships between supervisors and each of their subordinates.

Vertical dyads Leaders form unique independent relationships

with each subordinate (dyads) in which the subordinate becomes a member of the leader’s out-group or in-group.

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Related Approaches to Leadership (House) Charismatic Leadership (House)

Charisma, an interpersonal attraction that inspires support and acceptance, is an individual characteristic of a leader.

Charismatic persons are more successful than non-charismatic persons.

Charismatic leaders are: Self-confident Have a firm conviction in their belief and ideals Possess a strong need to influence people

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Related Approaches to Leadership (House) Charismatic Leadership Charismatic

leaders in organizations must be able to:

envision the future, set high expectations, and model behaviors consistent with expectations.

energize others through a demonstration of excitement, personal confidence, and patterns of success.

enable others by supporting them, by empathizing with them, and by expressing confidence in them.

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Related Approaches to Leadership (Burns) Transformational Leadership (Burns)

Leadership that goes beyond ordinary expectations, by transmitting a sense of mission, stimulating learning, and inspiring new ways of thinking.

Seven keys to successful leadership Trusting in one’s subordinates Developing a vision Keeping cool Encouraging risk Being an expert Inviting dissent Simplifying things

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Political Behavior in Organizations

Political Behavior The activities carried out for the specific purpose of

acquiring, developing, and using power and other resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes.

Common Political Behaviors Inducement Persuasion Creation of an obligation Coercion Impression management

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Political Behavior in Organizations

Managing Political Behavior Be aware that even if actions are not politically motivated,

others may assume that they are.

Reduce the likelihood of subordinates engaging in political behavior by providing them with autonomy, responsibility, challenge, and feedback.

Avoid using power to avoid charges of political motivation.

Get disagreements and conflicts out in the open so that subordinates have less opportunity to engage in political behavior.

Avoid covert behaviors that give the impression of political intent even if none exists.