LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS

Are you Born a leader

or are you Made a leader?

Leadership Concepts

Are leaders born or made? Thomas Carlyle suggested the “great man” theory,

that is, that leaders are born with innate qualities or traits that set them apart from other “mere men”

Researchers since have found that there is not one set of traits that makes someone a leader

Traits that are found in leaders are also found in followers

Trait theories did not show leaders were successful in different situations using very different methods

As the limitations of early explanations for leadership development became clear, researchers turned to other areas for investigation

Leadership Concepts

Areas that researched turned to in order to explain what makes a good leaderBehavioral TheoriesSituational TheoriesContingency Theories

Behavioral Theories

1940 saw a shift in belief towards that which supported the idea that Leadership could be taught. Anyone could become a leader with the right

information Not based on personality traits Based on what the leader did to make people

follow them Two aspects of behavior became apparent in

the research

Behavior Theory

Two Aspects of Behavior Behavior focused on the structural elements of

the job Establishing rules and guidelines for employees

Behavior that considered the needs of the employees Standing up for employees Explaining decisions

There were leadership characteristics that were not explained by behavioral theories How or why one behavioral aspect worked in one

situation but not another

Situational Theories

Seeks to explain leadership effectiveness in different situations

Elements that are considered How the leaders and followers interact How the work is structured

There are three main situational theories Blake-Mouton managerial grid, 1968 Path-goal theory, 1971 Hersey-Blanchard theory, 1977

Blake-Mouton Managerial grid

Considers two aspects Concern for people Concern for production

Uses 9 levels to measure each aspect Leaders on the lowest

(1,1) level show no concern for people or production

Leaders on the highest extreme show maximum concern for both people and production

Leaders scoring (9,9) are the most effective leaders

Path-goal Theory

Proposes that a leader can impact the behavior of a group by establishing goals and providing direction on reaching those goals

Four leadership styles may be used to accomplish this Directive Supportive Participative Achievement

Path-goal Theory

Directive Specifics what is to be done

Supportive Leader provides encouragement for the group

members Participative

Leader involves the group in decision making process

Achievement Leader establishes a difficult goal and

encourages the group to accomplish it

Hersey-Blanchard Theory

Describe leadership in terms of maturity level of the followers

Two types of maturity Psychological maturity (motivation) Job task maturity (level of experience)

This model provides four styles of leadership appropriate in different circumstances Telling Selling Participating Delegating

Hersey-Blanchard Theory

Telling With an immature team member base the leader must be

direct in providing guidance and defining roles Selling

With some experience, leader is directing in a more general sense; Encouraging motivated followers with lack of experience

Participating Followers may lack necessary motivation and require

support and encouragement to act on their own Delegation

Followers have the maturity to accomplish their tasks, leader identifies the goal and the followers are accountable to produce the results

Contingency Theories

Begins with an assessment of leader’s style Uses the “least preferred co-worker” scale

Indentify the co-worker (past or present) with whom you had the most difficulty working and rate this person on a scale of 1 to 8 on a series of measures such as level of cooperation and friendliness

The result is know as the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) A high score indicates the leaders has a greater concern

for people than tasks A low score indicates a greater concern for tasks

LPC score could predict the situation in which the leader would have a better chance of success

Contingency Theory

Describes situations in terms of three aspects Leader-member relations

Relationship between the leaders and members of the group are the key factor in determining the level of influence the leader will have within the group

Task Structure Jobs that are highly structured provide a leader with

greater influence than those that require little structure

Position Power Situations in which the leader has the discretion to

assign tasks or to reward or punish members of the group provide the leader with a greater chance of success

LEADERSHIP STYLESWhat kind of leader are you?

Leadership Styles

There are many different types of leadership styles that are appropriate and effective in different situations.

We have all experienced different types of leadership styles

What type of leader are you?

Leadership Styles

Authoritarian or Directive Democratic Laissez-Faire Coaching Transactional Transformative

Authoritarian or Directive

Effective in situations requiring immediate actions

Effective in situations that are life threatening

Can be the best style when productivity is the highest concern

Democratic

Most effective in environments of highly skilled professional employees

Good style for individuals who are self motivated and accomplish tasks on their own

Most effective style when relationships in the work environment are of primary concern

Laissez-faire

Allows group members to operate on their own

Provides no direction or guidance Can lead to chaos if members lack

confidence in their abilities May be an acceptable style for those who

are highly motivated and can work independently

In general it results in lower levels of productivity

Coaching

Coaches work with the group members to develop skills and abilities so that they will be able to operate independently

Transactional

Focus on getting the job done Offering a reward in exchange for

accomplishing goals Manage by exception

Seeking out areas where rules are not being followed and making corrections

Taking action when a goal is not met

Transformation

Focuses on the relationships in the group Building relationships to achieve

organizational goals Set the ideal for the group and act as a

role model Inspire Excellence within the group Stimulate new ideas and perspectives

Transformative leaders are coaches who work with individuals to develop their skills and abilities and improve their performance

Leadership Styles

Authoritative or Directive Democratic Laissez-faire Coaching Transactional Transformative

LEADERSHIP STYLESHow many leadership styles do

you embody?