Military Psychology

Gerhard Ohrband – ULIM University, Moldova

3rd lecture

Leadership

Course structure

1. Introduction: Historical Overview, main applications2. Environmental Stressors3. Leadership4. Team Effectiveness5. Individual and Group Behaviour6. Clinical Psychology7. Selection and Classification8. Training 9. Human Factor Engineering10. Psychotherapy and Counseling11. Terrorism12. Trauma Therapy13. Psychological Warfare14. Ethical Issues for a Psychologist in the Armed Forces15. Review: Preparation for the exams

Outline:1. What is Leadership?2. Leadership Style3. Contingency Theories of Leadership4. Attribution Theory5. Transactional and Transformational Leadership6. Charismatic Leadership7. Are Leaders Really Necessary?8. Derailment

1. What is leadership?

Management

Planning and budgeting: making detailed steps and timetables for achieving results

Organizing and Staffing: the allocation of tasks and staffing to carry them out

Controlling and problem-solving: monitoring the results of a plan, identifying problems and solving them

Outcomes: order and predictability: produces predictability so that others can rely on consistent results

Leadership

Establishing direction: developing a vision for the future and plans for achieving the vision

Aligning people: communicating the vision so that others understand it and agree with it

Motivating and inspiring: energizing people towards the vision so that they overcome barriers to change

Outcomes: change: produces definite changes such as new products, or new directions

2. Leadership style

Ohio State University: research on military leaders

Four main factors through factor analysis:

1. Consideration

2. Initiating structure

3. Production emphasis

4. Sensitivity

“Leadership grid” Black and McCanse (1991)

Five major leadership types, resulting from the combination of concern for people and concern for task:

1 Team management, or 9.9 style (the first figure refers to concern for task, the second to concern for people), relies on interdependence through having a common stake in the group’s purpose. This leads to mutual trust and respect between the leaders and followers

2 Middle of the road management, or 5.5 style, is about balancing the need to get the work done and keeping morale at a satisfactory level. The objective is adequate performance

3 Impoverished or laissez-faire management, or a 1.1 style, is typified by the execution of the least possible effort to get the work done and keep the group together

4 Country club management, or a 1.9 style, involves having a thoughtful approach to the needs of people in the group in order to maintain a friendly atmosphere

5 Task management (also known as authority/obedience management), or a 9.1 style, stresses the importance of arranging work in such a way that human elements can affect it only to a minimum

3. Contingency Theories of Leadership

How the situation in which the leader and group find themselves has an effect on the leadership behaviour used.

When is one type of leadership behaviour more appropriate than another?

Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey and Blanchard, 1988)

Two dimensions:

1. task behaviours 2. relationship behaviours

Four typical leadership types:

1 Encouraging2 Coaching3 Delegating4 Structuring

Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey and Blanchard, 1988)

Situation:• Willingness of the people to do their work• Ability of the people to do their work• Nature of the work• Climate of the organization

Key Factor: follower maturity (subordinate’s understanding of the job and commitment to it) – both job maturity (experience, ability and knowledge) and psychological maturity (persistence, independence, willingness and attitude to work)

Low maturity: structuringhigh maturity: delegating style

Fiedler’s contingency model (1967) leader performance is dependent upon both

the leader’s personal characteristics and the degree to which the leader controls the situation

least preferred co-worker (LPC)

Implications

The situation is most favourable for the leader when relations with subordinates are good, the leader has strong position power and the task is highly structured

When the situation is either very favourable or unfavourable: low LPC (task-oriented)

When the situation is a mixture: high LPC leaders are more effective

Fiedler’s contingency theory

Vroom-Yetton-Jago normative model Leaders usually adopt one of five distinct methods for reaching

decisions:

A1Decide alone from personal knowledge without discussing with anyone

A11Seek information from one or more subordinates but then decide alone

C1Consult with selected individuals and seek information but not solutions, and then still decide alone.

C11Consult with the whole group together, using them as consultants, but retain the final decision themselves

G11Share the problems with the whole group and mutually decide what to do

Path-goal theory (House and Mitchell, 1974) Directive leadership: being clear about what suobordinates are

expected to do; giving guidance; scheduling and coordinating the work.

Supportive leadership: considering the needs of subordinates; showing concern for their welfare; creating a friendly work climate.

Participative leadership: consulting subordinates and taking into account their suggestions and opinions.

Achievement-oriented leadership: setting challenging goals; seeking improvements in performance; expressing confidence that subordinates will achieve high standrads.

4. Attribution Theory

Observation of poor quality of production

•Rejects•Excess scrap•Returned products•Excessive production•costs

Causal attribution ofpoor quality

Internal causes•Low effort•Low commitment•Lack of ability

External causes•Poor equipment•Unfair deadlines•Illness of production •team members

Leader behaviourin response toattributions

•Reprimand•Transfer•Demotion•Redesign job•Personal concern•Training

Information cues:Distinctiveness, consistency,

consensus

Perceived sourceof responsibility

An attributional leadership model, adapted from Mitchell and Wood (1979)

The effects of a manager’s corrective action based on liking a subordinate

Managers makes internal attribution of employee

poor performance

Other employees observe action or lack of action

taken

Corrective action is taken:•Employee is punished

•Reprimand•Counselling

•Training•monitoring

May result in:•Absenteeism

•Sabotage•theft

Poor performancecontinues

No corrective action taken•Employee is supported

Employee is disliked

Employee is liked

Feelings ofinequalityand resentmentemerge

Feeling ofdissatisfaction and resentment

5. Transactional and Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership:1. Individualized consideration2. Intellectual stimulation3. Inspirational motivation4. Idealized influence Transactional leadership:1. Management-by-exception (MBE)2. Contingent reward

6. Charismatic Leadership

House’s theory (1977): leader traits, behaviours and conditions

Traits: high self-confidence, strong beliefs in their own views, need for power

Behaviours: setting an example, setting high expectations, providing an attractive vision of the future, arousing motivation, impression management

Conditions: stressful or reaching crisis

Conger and Kanungo’s attribution theory (1987) People attribute charisma to leaders in organizations in specific

situations Certain behaviours, which can be learned or adopted by leaders,

make it more likely that charisma will be attributed to them:Articulate a vision which paints a very different picture from the

existing state of affairsUnconventionality in their methods of attaining the visionShow self-confidence and enthusiasm about the visionPersuasive appeals to the emotions of followersUse personal power (through force of personality) rather than

position power (through use of hierarchical position)Demonstrated concern for others, rather than oneself

7. Are Leaders really necessary?

Kerr and Jermier (1978): leaders may be unnecessary because of subordinate, task or organization characteristics.

Subordinate: high level of knowledge, experience or commitment.

Task: highly structured, routine tasks or intrinsically satisfying tasks

Organization: cohesive work group, or formal plans, goals and areas of responsability

8. Derailment

Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Why do individuals fail to continue to be successful once they have become leaders?

McCall and Lombardo (1983):1. Why were derailed executives successful in the first

place?2. What were the ‘fatal flaws’ that led to derailment?3. What events made those flaws surface?4. How did those who derailed differ from those who

made it to the top?

Reasons for derailment

1. Over-managing

2. Over-ambitious

3. Inability to be strategic

4. Poor interpersonal skills

Attention: Both groups were intelligent, independent, emotionally adjusted and had good leadership potential.

Discussion Points

1. Is there a difference between leadership and management? If so, what is it?

2. Can you think of charismatic leaders? How are they different from non-charismatic leaders? Are such leaders always a positive and helpful influence for an organization and its members?

3. How far do you agree that much of leadership theory comes down to reinterpreting the discovery of the early Ohio State and Michigan studies, namely that the two key components of leadership and management are people orientation and task orientation?

4. If you were a practising manager, which of the many theories of leadership would you find most instructive and useful?

5. Do leaders really make a difference to organizational effectiveness?

Literature

Hughes, R. and Ginnett, R. (1998). Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience, 3rd edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Meindl, J.R. (1992). Reinventing leadership: a radical, social psychological approach. In K. Murnigham (ed.), Social Psychology in Organizations: Advances in Theory and Research. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Yammarino, F.J. and Bass, B.M. (1990). Transformational leadership and multiple levels of analysis. Human Relations, 43, 975-95.

Internet resources

http://www.nwlink.com/~Donclark/leader/leader.html

The Art and Science of Leadership http://www.12manage.com/i_l.html

Leadership. Methods, Models and Theories