ADM 612- LeadershipLecture 1 The Functions of Leadership and Early Leadership Theory

The Functions of Leadership in OrganizationLeadership is a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.Key points:Leadership is a group activity.Leadership is based on social influence.Leadership revolves around a common task.

The Functions of Leadership in OrganizationThe specification seems simple, but the reality of leadership is complex.Intrapersonal factors (i.e., thoughts and emotions) interact with;Interpersonal processes (i.e., attraction, communication, influence) to have effects on;A dynamic external environment.

Organizational FunctionsGroups and organizations are by nature inefficient.If one person could accomplish a job, the creation or assignment of a group would not be warranted.Groups require coordination of the efforts of their members.

Organizational FunctionsThe time and energy spent in that coordination are diverted from productive activity.Organizations, which are groups of groups, demand even greater resources applied to coordination.

Organizational FunctionsBut, most of the productive activities in society cannot be accomplished by individuals.Organizations are essential to the realization of the goals of productive endeavor, and leaders are essential to organizational coordination.

Organizational FunctionsInternal maintenance.The primary function that an organization must achieve is the regularization of activities to provide a stable base for productive operationReliability recurrent events are responded to in the same way every time they occur.

Organizational FunctionsInternal maintenance (contd.).Predictability members of the organization know what is likely to occur and when.Accountability reliability and predictability allows leaders to allocate responsibility for errors and identify methods of correction.

Organizational FunctionsExternal adaptability.Organizations must know what is going on around them and adapt to changes in the environment.Sensitivity.Flexibility.Responsiveness.

Organizational FunctionsBalancing contradictory demands.Problem: procedures that ensure reliability and predictability reduce flexibility and responsiveness.Organizational survival is a question of balance.Organizations with stable environments will benefit from the efficiencies of regularized processes.Organizations with competitive, unstable environments will need to sacrifice reliability to enhance responsiveness.

The Organizational Functions of LeadershipLeadership is a process of social influence through which one person is able to enlist the aid of others in reaching a goal.

The Organizational Functions of LeadershipIn an orderly, structured, and well-understood environment, the primary responsibilities are guidance and motivation.Assign people to tasks or responsibilities, to outline what is expected, and to facilitate and encourage goal attainment.

The Organizational Functions of LeadershipIn a less orderly environment calling for external adaptability, the crucial functions are problem solving and innovation.The leader must create the kind of atmosphere that encourages sensitivity, flexibility, and creativity.The leader must be a change agent.

Status DifferentiationThe concept of leadership implies a differentiation of authority and responsibilities between group members.This differentiation is known as status.

The Functions of Status BestowalPositive functions.The elevation of competence.The assignment of authority.The distribution of rewards.The modeling of normative expectancies.The facilitation of innovation.

The Functions of Status BestowalNegative functions.Means-end reversal (status for its own sake).Distortion of communication.Rigidification of the status structure.Primogeniture.Territoriality, cronyism, and petty competition.

The Cultural Evolution of Effective LeadershipThe desirability of leadership characteristics will be influenced by social context.Every culture (whether religious, national, or organizational) prescribes which behaviors are normative in a social context.Culture is the way in which a social unit adapts to its environment over time.The culture is first determined by external adaptability, then internal maintenance processes are brought into coherence.

The Cultural Evolution of Effective LeadershipExamples: if climate or lack of arable land make hunting and gathering more feasible than agriculture, hunting and gathering will tend to be adopted as the primary means of subsistence.Hunting and gathering cultures must encourage cooperation while developing independent and resourceful members.

The Cultural Evolution of Effective LeadershipDemocratic political structures (e.g., tribal councils) and egalitarian religious systems help to encourage the growth of self-sufficient and cooperative group members.An unpredictable supply of food makes creativity in resource use important and making sharing necessary to reduce the problems of temporary shortages.

The Cultural Evolution of Effective LeadershipA premium on cooperation and a penalty for competition.Leadership is situational (temporary roles for particular tasks) or generalized (roles determined by progress through the life cycle).

The Cultural Evolution of Effective LeadershipThe transition to horticulture increased the opportunities for the society to exploit its environment to generate surpluses.Created a type of semiegalitarian leadership called managerial leadership with power over redistribution of goods and services.Primary skills are persuasion and negotiation.The redistributor model may lead to more autocratic structures.

The Cultural Evolution of Effective LeadershipLarge scale agrarian societies tend to develop hierarchical power structures and restrict access to leadership roles.Agrarian economies place a primary premium not on resourcefulness but on reliability.

The Cultural Evolution of Effective LeadershipThe most prized personality trait of the masses is obedience.Autocratic leadership style, high on direction and low on participation combined with benevolent paternalism.

The Cultural Evolution of Effective LeadershipMany modern organizations reflect the experiences of the hunter-gatherer or agrarian cultures.Organizations with complex and unpredictable environments draw on hunter-gatherer leadership structures.Organizations with stable and predictable environments more closely reflect agrarian societies.

Early Research on LeadershipExactly what should leaders do to be effective?

Popular Conceptions of Ideal LeadershipThroughout human history, social and political observers have recognized the importance of leadership and have contemplated the most appropriate form it should take.Generally the beliefs of social philosophers, practitioners of leadership, or the followers who observe leadership.

Popular Conceptions of Ideal LeadershipViews reflect either an overarching philosophical position (Plato or Hobbes) or principles derived through the observation of exemplary leaders of the past (Macchiavelli or Confucius). The discussions usually reflect the influence of strong cultural assumptions about the bases of human nature (individualism in Europe; collectivism in Asia) and by contemporary political struggles or global economic trends.

Popular Conceptions of Ideal LeadershipMost discussions are normative (ought to) rather than descriptive (is). Best use may be in reflecting how societal values affect leadership patterns.

Popular Conceptions of Ideal LeadershipModern organizational example: Bennis and Nanus (1985).Unstructured interviews with purposive sample of 60 private and 30 public leaders with exemplary reputations.

Popular Conceptions of Ideal LeadershipFour strategies for effective leaders (Bennis and Nanus).The articulation of a compelling vision.Communication of the vision with a clarity and vibrancy that creates a shared meaning.Leaders must be seen as trustworthy by adopting an unwavering commitment to the vision.Successful leaders are able to make the fullest use of their personal resources of intelligence, energy, and commitment because they are confident about their capabilities and optimistic about the eventual success of their efforts.

Popular Conceptions of Ideal LeadershipModern conception of a leader.Inspiring goal or inspiring way of describing a goal.Trustworthy, honest, and fair.Confident, optimistic, and energetic.Most popular views of leadership are uniform across all situations.

Early Research in LeadershipThe search for the leadership trait.A common historical view of leadership has been that there is something about the leader as a person that provides unique qualifications for that persons ascendancy.Thomas Carlyle Great Man Theory of leadership great leaders are possessed of some special trait or characteristic that allowed them to rise to positions of prominence regardless of setting or situation.

Early Research in LeadershipThe search for the leadership trait (contd.).Early work on intelligence led to the analysis of individual traits in psychology.From the early 1900s to the Second World War, trait investigations were the dominant research strategy in leadership.Reputation, position, biography, case study.

Early Research in LeadershipThe search for the leadership trait (contd.).Stodgills survey of trait studies (1948).All traits studied were related to leadership to some degree, but none was sufficiently or universally associated with leadership enough to explain leadership emergence or predict who might become a leader.Weak support for traits associated with capacity or ability, achievement, responsibility, participation.

Early Research in LeadershipThe search for the leadership trait (contd.).Stodgill A person does not become a leader by virtue of the possession of some combination of traits, but the pattern of personal characteristics of the leader must bear some relevant relationship to the characteristics, activities, and goals of the followers. Thus, leadership must be conceived in terms of the interaction of variables which are in constant flux and change . . . the persistence of individual patterns of human behavior in the face of constant situational change appears to be the primary obstacle encountered not only in the practice of leadership, but in the selection and placement of leaders.

The Search for Effective Leader BehaviorsLeadership styles.Kurt Lewin democrat leadership styles generated greater satisfaction than autocratic or laissez faire styles.Lippitt and White Autocratic groups are more productive, but only when the leader is present.Subsequent research Related to characteristics of the followers. Employees high on authoritarianism and low on independence worked better with authoritarian leadership; while the opposite preferred democratic leadership styles.

The Search for Effective Leader BehaviorsIdentifying leader behavior patterns.Shartle (Ohio State); Kahn and Katz (University of Michigan); Bales and associates (Harvard University); Couch and Carter.General conclusions two distinctive styles of leadership behavior.One pattern focused on accomplishing the assigned task by organizing and directing the work of others.The other pattern attempted to maintain a positive emotional interpersonal atmosphere among the group members.

The Search for Effective Leader BehaviorsRelating leader behavior to organizational outcomes.Leader behavior was generally related to both successful outcomes and satisfaction, but the relationships are inconsistent and noncontinuous.Direction of causality not clear. Do behaviors cause outcomes or do outcomes influence behavior?

Situational Factors in LeadershipNot studied consistently, but some studies concluded that aspects of the context in which the leader functioned could have important effects on leadership emergence and subsequent behavior.

Situational Factors in LeadershipHemphill argued that the motivation to attempt to assert influence in groups, that is, to lead, depends on:The person must believe that the influence attempts will be accepted by other group members;The potential leader must perceive a sufficiently high probability that they will be able to accomplish the task or achieve the goal.The leader must feel that the rewards of goal attainment will be attractive and worthwhile.

Situational Factors in LeadershipCentral location in the communication chain is critical.Influence attempts that receive the support of other group members.Previous leaders behavior.The type of task to be performed.

ConclusionsSimple answers involving traits, behaviors, and styles are unlikely to explain the leadership dynamic.

ConclusionsTraits: stable personal dispositions have influence.Situation: leaders position in the organization; The policies, procedures, and climate of the organization; Societal culture.Variations in immediate situation.Followers acceptance and support.Nature of the groups task.Authority relationships.

A Preview of the Integrative ModelEffective leadership consists of three functions:Image management.Relationship development.Resource utilization.Success is determined by the match principle.Image matches templates.Relationships matches needs and expectations.Strategies match the demands of the environment.

Different Views of Leadership

Management Versus Leadership