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Understanding Leadership Theories and Styles

This document discusses several theories of leadership, including: 1. Trait theories which examine personality traits that differentiate leaders from non-leaders. Key traits include extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional intelligence. 2. Behavioral theories which focus on specific leader behaviors like initiating structure and consideration. These theories propose that leadership can be learned or taught. 3. Contingency theories which emphasize that leadership success depends on factors like the environment and followers. Situational leadership theory and path-goal theory are discussed. 4. Charismatic and transformational leadership theories which view leaders as inspiring followers through words, ideas and behaviors. Charismatic leaders are seen as exceptional or extraordinary

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MD Shakil Khan
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
16 views8 pages

Understanding Leadership Theories and Styles

This document discusses several theories of leadership, including: 1. Trait theories which examine personality traits that differentiate leaders from non-leaders. Key traits include extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional intelligence. 2. Behavioral theories which focus on specific leader behaviors like initiating structure and consideration. These theories propose that leadership can be learned or taught. 3. Contingency theories which emphasize that leadership success depends on factors like the environment and followers. Situational leadership theory and path-goal theory are discussed. 4. Charismatic and transformational leadership theories which view leaders as inspiring followers through words, ideas and behaviors. Charismatic leaders are seen as exceptional or extraordinary

Uploaded by

MD Shakil Khan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chapter – 6

Leadershi
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1. Are leadership and management different from one another? If so, how?
2. What is the difference between trait and behavioral theories? Are the theories valid?
3. Describe contingency theories.
4. Define charismatic leadership.*******
 Does Effective Charismatic Leadership Depend on the Situation?
 Is charismatic leader born or made?
 Explain the dark side of charismatic leader.
5. How do charismatic and transformational leadership compare and contrast? Are they valid?
6. What is authentic leadership? Why do ethics and trust matter to leadership?
What Is Leadership?

Leadership as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals. Leadership is
interactional, contextual, and a process (not a trait someone has).
Various elements help leadership emerge.
A leader is a person who likes charge of the situation and influences the attitudes and actions of others
 They don't always have the title of leader
 They see a need and possible answers, and then voice their ideas
 They influence the behavior of others
Not all leaders are managers, nor all managers are leaders.
A — manager knows all of the policies and procedures and does them correctly
A — leader knows how to do the right thing even if it is not spelled out in a manual

leadership is defined as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement at a vision or set of goals. The
source of this influence may be formal, such as that provided by managerial rank in an organization. But not all
leaders are managers, nor all managers leaders, just because an organization provides its managers with certain
formal rights is no assurance they will lead effectively.

Non-sanctioned leadership — the ability to influence that arises outside the formal structure of the organization
—is often as important or more important than formal influence. In other words, leaders can emerge from
within a group as well as by formal appointment.

Organizations need strong leadership and strong management for optimal effectiveness. Need Leaders today to
challenge the status quo, create visions of the future, and inspire organizational members. Need managers to
formulate detailed plans, create efficient organizational structures, and oversee day-to-day operations.

People cannot be managed, rather they can be leaded to certain direction.

Theories of Leadership
Trait Theories of Leadership

Strong leaders—Buddha, Napoleon, Mao, Churchill, Roosevelt, Reagan—have been described in terms of their traits.
World recognizes leaders like South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson, Apple co-founder
Steve Jobs, and American Express chairman Ken Chenault as charismatic, enthusiastic, and courageous.
The search for personality, social, physical, or intellectual attributes that differentiate leaders from non-leaders
goes back to the earliest stages of leadership research.
Theories that consider personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from non-leaders are known
as trait theory.
It is believed that “Leaders are born, not made”
Ex: Physical traits: Height, Gender, Face, Hair, Age, Weight, etc.
 Height is related to leadership
 Taller people more likely to be leaders
 Higher salaries
 More social esteem
Most of the dozens of traits in various leadership reviews fit under one of the Big Five personality framework
giving strong support to traits as predictors of leadership.

 A comprehensive review has found extraversion to be the most important trait of effective
leaders, but it is more strongly related to the way leaders emerge than to their effectiveness. But
leaders must not be too assertive, because it is found that leaders who scored very high on
assertiveness were less effective than those who were moderately high.
 Conscientiousness and openness to experience also showed strong relationships to leadership,
though not quite as strong as extraversion.
 Another trait of effective leadership is emotional intelligence (EI). A core component of EI is
empathy. Without it, a person can have outstanding training, a highly analytical mind, a compelling
vision, and an endless supply of terrific ideas but still not make a great leader.
Traits can predict leadership, but they are better at predicting leader emergence than effectiveness.

Behavioral Theories

Trait research provides a basis for selecting the right people for leadership. In contrast, behavioral theories of
leadership implied we could train people to be leaders. Theories proposing that specific behaviors differentiate
leaders from non-leaders.
Theories proposing that specific behaviors differentiate leaders from non-leaders are known as behavioral
theory of leadership.
It is believed that “Leaders are not born; they are made”.
Behavioral leadership is a skill set and can be taught to anyone, so we need to identify the proper behaviors to teach
potential leaders.
There are two key dimensions of behavior of leaders: initiating structure and consideration.
 Initiating structure is the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role
and employees in the goal attainment.
A leader high in initiating structure is someone who “assigns group members to particular tasks,”
“expects workers to maintain definite standards of performance,” and “emphasizes the meeting of
deadlines.” Can be known as Production-oriented Leader.
 Consideration is the extent to which a person’s job relationships are characterized by mutual
trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings.
A leader high in consideration helps employees with personal problems, is friendly and
approachable, treats all employees as equals, and expresses appreciation and support. Can be
known as Employee-oriented Leader.

EX: Brazil would need to be team oriented, participative, and humane. Leaders high in consideration would
succeed best in this culture. French have a more bureaucratic view of leaders and are less likely to expect them to
be humane and considerate.
In recent survey, when asked to indicate what most motivated employees at work, 66% of employees mentioned
appreciation.

Contingency Theories

The rise and fall of leaders illustrate that predicting leadership success is more complex than isolating a few traits
or behaviors. What worked in very bad times and in very good times didn’t seem to translate into long-term
success.

While trait and behavior theories do help us understand leadership, an important component is missing: the
environment in which the leader exists.

Contingency Theories
Situational Leadership Theory (focuses on the followers)
It says successful leadership depends on selecting the right leadership style depending on the followers’ readiness,
or the extent to which they are willing and able to accomplish a specific task. A leader should choose one of four
behaviors depending on follower readiness.
‘Readiness’ is the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.

Ability to follow Willingness to follow Leadership behavior


Unable Unwilling Give clear and specific directions
Unable Willing Display high task orientation
Able Unwilling Use a supportive and participatory style
Able Willing Doesn’t need to do much

Path–Goal theory
It says it’s the leader’s job to provide followers with the information, support, or other resources necessary to
achieve their goals.
According to path–goal theory, whether a leader should be directive or supportive depends on complex analysis
of the situation.
It predicts the following:
 Directive leadership yields greater satisfaction when tasks are ambiguous than when they are
highly structured.
 Supportive leadership results in high performance when employees are performing structured
tasks.
 Directive leadership is likely to be perceived as redundant (unnecessary) among employees with
high ability.
Leader can change their styles of interacting with the followers by considering their ability and involvement in the
task. They will be more successful as they assess and adapt to their followers.

Charismatic Leadership and Transformational Leadership


This section presents two contemporary leadership theories—charismatic leadership and transformational
leadership—with a common theme: they view leaders as individuals who inspire followers through their words,
ideas, and behaviors.

Charismatic Leadership

John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Mary Kay Ash (founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics),
and Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple Computer) are frequently cited as charismatic leaders.

What Is Charismatic Leadership?


Charismatic leadership is a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he or she is
set apart from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least
specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are not accessible to the ordinary person
Followers attribute heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors.
The characteristics of charismatic leaders:
 Vision and articulation. Has a vision—expressed as an idealized goal—that proposes a future
better than the status quo; and is able to clarify the importance of the vision in terms that are
understandable to others.
 Personal risk. Willing to take on high personal risk, incur high costs, and engage in self-sacrifice
to achieve the vision.
Sensitivity to follower needs. Perceptive of others’ abilities and responsive to their needs and
feelings.
 Unconventional behavior. Engages in behaviors that are perceived as novel and counter to
norms.
How Charismatic Leaders Influence Followers

 Vision, a long-term strategy for attaining a goal by linking the present with a better future for the
organization. Desirable visions fit the times and circumstances and reflect the uniqueness of the
organization.
 Vision statement, a formal articulation of an organization’s vision or mission. Charismatic
leaders may use vision statements to imprint on followers an overarching goal and purpose.
 Through words and actions the leader conveys a new set of values and sets an example for
followers to imitate.
 Engages in emotion-inducing and often unconventional behavior to demonstrate courage and
conviction about the vision.

Are charismatic leaders Born or Made?

Individuals are born with traits that make them charismatic. In fact, studies of identical twins have found they score
similarly on charismatic leadership measures, even if they were raised in different households and had never met.
Personality is also related to charismatic leadership; charismatic leaders are likely to be extraverted, self-confident,
and achievement oriented.
Consider Presidents Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan: like them or not, they are often compared because both
possess the qualities of charismatic leaders.
Most experts believe individuals can be trained to exhibit charismatic behaviors. After all, just because we inherit
certain tendencies doesn’t mean we can’t learn to change.
One set of authors proposes a three-step process.
1. First, develop an aura of charisma by maintaining an optimistic view; using passion as a catalyst for
generating enthusiasm; and communicating with the whole body, not just with words.
2. Second, draw others in by creating a bond that inspires them to follow.
3. Third, bring out the potential in followers by tapping into their emotions.

Does Effective Charismatic Leadership Depend on the Situation?


People are especially receptive to charismatic leadership when they sense a crisis, when they are under stress,
or when they fear for their lives. Charismatic leaders are able to reduce stress for their employees, perhaps
because they help to make work seem more meaningful and interesting. And some peoples’ personalities are
especially liable to charismatic leadership.
Consider an example of self-esteem. An individual who lacks self-esteem and questions his or her self-worth is
more likely to absorb a leader’s direction rather than establish his or her own way of leading or thinking. (Ex:
shopping)
Research shows impressive correlations between charismatic leadership and high performance and satisfaction
among followers. Organizations with charismatic CEOs are also more profitable.
EX: Franklin D. Roosevelt offered a vision to get the United States out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. In
1997, the board persuaded charismatic co-founder Steve Jobs to return as interim CEO and return the company to
its innovative roots.

The Dark Side of Charismatic Leadership


Charismatic leaders who are larger than life don’t necessarily act in the best interests of their organizations. Many have
allowed their personal goals to override the goals of the organization.
It’s little wonder research has shown that individuals who are narcissistic are also higher in some behaviors associated
with charismatic leadership.

It’s not that charismatic leadership isn’t effective; overall, it is. But a charismatic leader isn’t always the answer.
Success depends, to some extent, on the situation and on the leader’s vision. Some charismatic leaders—Hitler, for
example—are all too successful at convincing their followers to pursue a vision that can be disastrous.
Transformational and Transactional Leadership
Inspire followers to surpass their self-interests for the good of the organization and can have an extraordinary
effect on their followers. They pay attention to the concerns of individual followers; they change followers’
awareness of issues by helping them look at old problems in new ways; and they inspire followers to put out extra
effort. (Ex: Richard Branson of the Virgin Group, Jim McNerney of Boeing).
Transactional leaders, who guide their followers toward established goals by clarifying role and task
requirements.
Transactional and transformational leadership complement each other; Transformational leadership builds on
transactional leadership and produces levels of performance beyond what transactional leadership alone can do.
The best leaders are transactional and transformational.

 Laissez-faire is the most passive


and therefore least effective of
leader behaviors.
 Management by exception—
active or passive—is slightly
better, but it’s still considered
ineffective. leaders tend to be
available only when there is a
problem
 Contingent reward leadership
can be an effective style. But will
not get employees to go beyond
the call of duty.
 Transformational leadership—
are leaders able to motivate
followers to perform above
expectations and transcend their
self-interest for the sake of the
organization.
Result in:
Extra effort from workers,
Higher productivity,
Morale and satisfaction,
Organizational effectiveness,
Lower turnover, lower absenteeism, and greater organizational adaptability
Authentic Leadership: Ethics and Trust
Although theories have increased our understanding of effective leadership, they do not explicitly deal
with the role of ethics and trust, which some argue is essential to complete the picture. Here, we consider
these two concepts under the rubric of authentic leadership.

What Is Authentic Leadership?


Authentic leaders know who they are, know what they believe in and value, and act on those values and
beliefs openly and candidly. Their followers consider them ethical people. The primary quality produced
by authentic leadership, therefore, is trust. Authentic leaders share information, encourage open
communication, and stick to their ideals. The result: people come to have faith in them.

Servant Leadership
Servant leaders go beyond their own self-interest and focus on opportunities to help followers grow and
develop. They don’t use power to achieve ends; they emphasize persuasion. Characteristic behaviors
include listening, empathizing, persuading, accepting stewardship, and actively developing followers’
potential.
East Asian prototype is more like a servant leader, which might mean servant leadership is more effective
in these cultures.
Trust and Leadership
Trust is a psychological state that exists when you agree to make yourself vulnerable to another because
you have positive expectations about how things are going to turn out.
Trust is a primary attribute associated with leadership; breaking it can have serious adverse effects on a
group’s performance.
Followers who trust a leader are confident their rights and interests will not be abused. Today’s rapid
reorganizations, diffusion of responsibility, and collaborative team-based work style mean employment
relationships are not stable long-term contracts with explicit terms. Rather, they are more fundamentally
based on trusting relationships than ever before.

How Is Trust Developed?

What key characteristics lead us to believe a leader is trustworthy? Evidence has identified three:
 Integrity refers to honesty and truthfulness
 Benevolence means the trusted person has your interests at heart, even if yours aren’t
necessarily in line with theirs.
 Ability encompasses an individual’s technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills.

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