Being an Effective Leader

What do we learn?

a.     What is leader and leadership?

Ø  Leader: someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority.

Ø  Leadership: a process of influencing a group to achieve goals.

b.    Early theory of leadership.

Ø  The early leadership theory focused on:

1.      Leadership trait theories (leader):

o   Identify certain traits that all leaders have.

o   Some of the traits includes physical stature, appearance, social class, emotional stability, fluency of speech, and sociability.

2.      Leadership behaviour theories:

o   Behavioural theories: theories that identify behaviours that differentiated effective leaders from ineffective leaders.

o   4 main leader behaviour studies:

1.      University of Iowa studies:

o   3 leadership styles:

§  Autocratic style: a leader who dictates work methods, makes unilateral decisions, and limits employee participation.

§  Democratic style: a leader who involves employees in decision-making, delegates authority, and uses feedback as an opportunity for coaching employees.

§  Laissez-faire style: a leader who lets the group make decisions and complete the work in whatever way it sees fit.

2.      The Ohio state studies:

o   2 dimension of leader behavior:

§  Initiating structure: the role of the leader in defining his or her role and the roles of group members.

§  Consideration: the leader’s mutual trust and respect for group members’ ideas and feelings.

§  High-high leader: a leader high in both initiating structure and consideration behavior.

3.      University of Michigan studies:

o   two dimensions of leader behavior:

§  Employee oriented: emphasizing personal relationships.

§  Production oriented: emphasizing task accomplishment.

4.      The managerial grid:

o   Managerial grid: a two-dimensional grid for appraising leadership styles.

o   five categories:

§  Impoverished management

§  Task management

§  Middle-of-the-road management

§  Country club management

§  Team management

c.      The 3 major contingency theories of leadership.

Ø  The fiedler model:

o   Fiedler contingency model: a leadership theory proposing that effective group performance depends on the proper match between a leader’s style and the degree to which the situation allows the leader to control and influence.

o   Least-preferred coworker (LPC) questionnaire: a questionnaire that measures whether a leader is task or relationship oriented.

o   3 contingency dimensions that defined the key situational factors in leader effectiveness:

1.      Leader-member relations: the degree of confidence, trust, and respect employees had for their leader; rated as either good or poor.

2.      Task structure: the degree to which job assignments were formalized and structured; rated as either high or low.

3.      Position power: the degree of influence a leader had over activities such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases; rated as either strong or weak.

Ø  Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory:

o   Situational Leadership Theory (SLT): a leadership contingency theory that focuses on followers’ readiness.

o   Readiness: the extent to which followers have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.

o   4 specific leadership styles:

1.      Telling (high task–low relationship): The leader defines roles and tells people what, how, when, and where to do various tasks.

2.      Selling (high task–high relationship): The leader provides both directive and supportive behavior.

3.      Participating (low task–high relationship): The leader and followers share in decision-making; the main role of the leader is facilitating and communicating.

4.      Delegating (low task–low relationship): The leader provides little direction or support.

o   4 stages of follower readiness:

1.      R1: People are both unable and unwilling to take responsibility for doing something. Followers aren’t competent or confident.

2.      R2: People are unable but willing to do the necessary job tasks. Followers are motivated but lack the appropriate skills.

3.      R3: People are able but unwilling to do what the leader wants. Followers are competent, but don’t want to do something.

4.      R4: People are both able and willing to do what is asked of them.

Ø  Path-goal model:

o   Path-goal theory: a leadership theory that says the leader’s job is to assist followers in attaining their goals and to provide direction or support needed to ensure that their goals are compatible with the goals of the group or organization.

o   4 leadership behavior;

1.      Directive leader: Lets subordinates know what’s expected of them, schedules work to be done, and gives specific guidance on how to accomplish tasks.

2.      Supportive leader: Shows concern for the needs of followers and is friendly.

3.      Participative leader: Consults with group members and uses their suggestions before making a decision.

4.      Achievement oriented leader: Sets challenging goals and expects followers to perform at their highest level.

d.    Contemporary views of leadership.

Ø  Leader-member exchange theory (LMX): the leadership theory that says leaders create in-groups and out-groups and those in the in-group will have higher performance ratings, less turnover, and greater job satisfaction.

Ø  Transformational-transactional leadership:

o   Transactional leaders: leaders who lead primarily by using social exchanges (or transactions).

o   Transformational leaders: leaders who stimulate and inspire (transform) followers to achieve extraordinary outcomes.

Ø  Charismatic-visionary leadership:

o   Charismatic leader: an enthusiastic, self-confident leader whose personality and actions influence people to behave in certain ways.

o   Visionary leadership: the ability to create and articulate a realistic, credible, and attractive vision of the future that improves upon the present situation.

Ø  Team leadership:

o   Team Leadership: many leaders are not equipped to handle the change to employee teams.

o   2 priorities:

§  Managing the team’s external boundary.

§  Facilitating the team process.

e.      Contemporary issues affecting leadership.

Ø  Managing power:

o   5 sources of leader power:

§  Legitimate power: the power a leader has as a result of his or her position.

§  Coercive power: the power a leader has to punish or control.

§  Reward power: the power to give positive benefits or rewards.

§  Expert power: the influence a leader can exert as a result of his or her expertise, skills, or knowledge.

§  Referent power: the power of a leader that arises because of a person’s desirable resources or admired personal traits.

Ø  Developing trust:

o   Credibility: the degree to which followers perceive someone as honest, competent, and able to inspire.

o   Trust: the belief in the integrity, character, and ability of a leader.

§  Integrity: honesty and truthfulness

§  Competence: technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills

§  Consistency: reliability, predictability, and good judgment in handling situations

§  Loyalty: willingness to protect a person, physically and emotionally

§  Openness: willingness to share ideas and information freely

Ø  Empowering employee:

o   Empowerment: increasing the decision-making discretion of workers such that teams can make key operating decisions in developing budgets, scheduling workloads, controlling inventories, and solving quality problems.

Ø  leading across culture:

o   Effective leaders do not use a single style. They adjust their style to the situation.

o   National culture is certainly an important situational variable in determining which leadership style will be most effective.

Ø  Becoming an effective leader:

o   Leader training:

§  Training is more likely to be successful with individuals who are high self-monitors than those who are low self-monitors.

§  Individuals with higher levels of motivation to lead are more receptive to leadership development opportunities.