LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP

By NAYANA. N. PM.TECH (HRD)1ST YEAR

2What is Leadership…??

“Leadership is the ability to persuade others to

seek defined objectives enthusiastically. It is

the human factor which binds a group

together and motivates towards goals.”

3

Leadership is a process by which an executive can direct, guide and

influence the behavior and work of others towards accomplishment

of specific goals in a given situation. It is the ability of a manager to

induce the subordinates to work with confidence and zeal.

Leadership is the potential to influence behavior of others. It is also

defined as the capacity to influence a group towards the realization

of a goal. Leaders are required to develop future visions, and to

motivate the organizational members to want to achieve the visions.

4

Importance of leadership

Initiates action- 

starts the work by communicating the policies and plans to the subordinates

Motivation-

motivates the employees with economic and non-economic rewards

Providing guidance- 

play a guiding role for the subordinates.

Creating confidence- 

expressing the work efforts to the subordinates,

giving them guidelines to achieve the goals effectively

hear the employees with regards to their complaints and problems.

5

Building morale-  a morale booster by achieving full co-operation so that they perform

with best of their abilities as they work to achieve goals.

Builds work environment-  human relations should be kept into mind by a leader..

He should treat employees on humanitarian terms.

Co-ordination-  achieved through reconciling personal interests with organizational

goals.

6

Requisites to be present in a good leader

PHYSICAL APPERENCE

VISION AND FORESIGHT

INTELLIGENCE

COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS

OBJECTIVE(unbiased, fair

judgment)

KNOWLEDGE OF WORK

SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY

SELF CONFIDENCE

HUMANIST

EMPATHY(stepping into others

shoes)

7

Leadership styles

AutocraticBeurocraticDemocraticCoerciveTransactionalTransformationalLaissez- faire

8

Autocratic

retains power (classical approach)

is decision-making authority

does not consult employees for input

Subordinates expected to obey orders without explanations

Motivation provided through structured rewards and punishments

Eg: Adolf Hitler(Austrian-born German politician and the leader of

the Nazi Party)

9

Bureaucratic

Manager manages “by the book¨

Everything must be done according to procedure or policy

Police officer more than leader

Performing routine tasks

Need for standards/procedures

Eg : Max Weber (founding architect of sociology, German

sociologist ,philosopher)

10

Democratic Often referred to as participative style

Keeps employees informed

Shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities

Gathers information from staff members before making decisions

Help employees evaluate their own performance

Encourages employees to grow on the job and be promoted

E.g. :Winston Churchill (  British politician who was Prime

Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945and 1951 to

1955)

11Coercive

Power from a person’s authority to punish

Most obvious types of power a leader has.

Good leaders use coercive power only as a last

option

Used when

In times of crisis

When left with no other choice

e.g. Saddam Husain (fifth president of Iraq)

12Transactional

Motivate followers by appealing to their own self-interest

Focuses on the accomplishment of tasks & good worker

relationships in exchange for desirable rewards.

Encourage leader to adapt their style and behavior to

meet expectations of followers

This style is used when:

When there are approaching deadlines that must be met

Relationship is short term

e.g. : Steve Jobs(American entrepreneur, inventor ,chairman, and

CEO of Apple Inc.)

13

Transformational Charismatic and visionary

Inspire followers to transcend their self-interest for the organization

Inspire followers to think about problems in new or different ways

Used when:

leaders want members to be an active part of the organization and have ownership

to it

When people need to be motivated

E.g.: Abraham Lincoln (  the  16th President of the United States Lincoln led the

United States through its greatest constitutional, military, and moral

crisis ,preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, strengthening the national

government and modernizing the economy.)

14Laissez-Faire

Also known as the “hands-off¨ style

Little or no direction

Gives followers as much freedom as possible

Followers must determine goals, make decisions, and resolve problems on

their own.

Used when:

Employees are highly skilled, experienced, and educated

Employees have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own

Employees are trustworthy and experienced

E.g. Thomas Jefferson ( American Founding Father, the principal author of

the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States (1801–

1809))

15

Team leadership

A team is a work group that must rely on collaboration if

each member is to experience the optimum success and

achievement.

A team is a small number of people with complementary

skills who are committed to a common purpose,

performance goals, and approach for which they are

mutually accountable.

Any team member can perform the critical leadership

functions to assess the current effectiveness of the team

16

Give feedback & resolve conflict

Help to keep team focused on the mission despite

personality conflict, work style difference and

blockages by interpersonal conflict

Build trust and inspire teamwork

Coach team members and group members toward

higher levels of performance

Facilitate and support the team decisions

What a Team Leader Must Be & Do

17

Theories of leadership

GREAT MAN THEORIES

TRAIT THEORIES

CONTIGENCY THEORIES

SITUATIONAL THEORIES

BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES

PARTICIPATIVE THEORIES

MANAGEMENT THEORIES

RELATIONSHIP THEORIES

18

Trait Approaches To Leadership

Trait approach to leadership - Leader

traits are referred to his or her earned

personal characteristics

Physical background

social background

intellectual,

personality

work orientation

interpersonal skills

19

Trait Theory

Focuses exclusively on the leader not the situation or the follower’s

therefore more straight forward.

Concerned with what traits are important and who possesses these traits

Theory argues that it is the leader and his personality and other characters

are central to leadership

Concerned with uncovering the particular characteristics that differentiated

leaders from non leaders to find what captured the admiration of other

people.

Leaders are born with special characteristics rather than made

org can develop methods to identify leaders and find ways to develop and

enhance traits in others

Also considered to be a source of personal awareness – assess own traits

20

Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) six traits that differ between leaders and non-

leaders.

1. Drive 

• This trait includes a group of five motives, achievement, ambition,

energy, tenacity and initiative, that reflect a high effort level.

2. Leadership Motivation 

• Leaders must have a strong desire to influence and lead others.

They must be willing to assume responsibility.

3. Honesty/Integrity 

• Without these virtues, leadership is undermined. Honesty and

integrity form the foundation of a trusting relationship between

leaders and followers.

21

1. Self-confidence 

• A person without confidence will not be able to make the

difficult decisions required

2. Cognitive Ability 

• Leaders must possess a level of intelligence high enough to

process large amounts of information and formulate strategies

and solve problems.

3. Knowledge of Business 

• In-depth knowledge of the business allows leaders to make

well-informed decisions and understand their consequences.

22

The strengths of the traits approach

It assumes that it is the leader and his/her

personality that are central to the leadership

process.

It supports the general image in the society that leaders are a

special kind of people (gifted people)who can do

extraordinary things.

Trait approach has a long research tradition and a significant

body of research data that support this approach.

The trait approach has given us some benchmarks for what

we need to look for if we want to be leaders.

23

Criticisms of trait approach

Why do people with leadership traits become leaders in some

situations but not others?

Why is it that some people embodying leadership qualities never

become leaders?

The weaknesses of the traits approach as follows:

1) The approach has not fixed a definitive list of leadership traits and the list that

has emerged seems endless.

2) The approach has failed to take situations into account.

3) There has much subjective interpretation of the meaning of the data and data is

not always based on reliable research.

4) The trait approach is weak in describing how leaders' traits affect the outcomes

of groups and teams in organizations.

24

Contingency Theory of Leadership Effectiveness

Developed by Fred E. Fiedler in 1960’s

This theory explains that group performance

is a result of interaction of two factors.

leadership style

situational favorableness.

25

Situational favorableness

• A leader who is more trusted, who has more

confidence and has more influence with the group is

in a more favorable situation than a leader who is not

trusted.

Leader member relations

• This refers to the type of task you're doing: clear and

structured, or vague and unstructured.

Task structure

•This is the amount of power you have to direct the group, and

provide reward or punishment.

•The more power you have, the more favorable your situation.

Leader’s position &

power

26

•Step 1 :Identify leadership style using the

model.

• Fiedler believed that leadership style is

fixed, and it can be measured using a scale

he developed called Least-Preferred Co-

Worker (LPC) Scale

•Step 2 : Think about the person who

you've least enjoyed working with.

•Step 3 : Add up your scores and rate your

leader.

• If your total score is high, you're likely

to be a relationship-orientated leader.

• If your total score is low, you're more

likely to be task-orientated leader.

27

low LPC-leaders high-LPC leaders

LPC’s are low

task-oriented leaders

low LPCs are very effective at

completing tasks.

They're quick to organize a

group to get tasks and projects

done.

Relationship-building is a low

priority.

LPC’s are high.

relationship-oriented leaders

High LPCs focus more on

personal connections, and

they're good at avoiding and

managing conflict.

They're better able to make

complex decisions.

Least-Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Scale

28

Criticisms of the Model

One of the biggest is lack of flexibility.

Fiedler believed that because our natural leadership style is

fixed, the most effective way to handle situations is to

change the leader.

Least-Preferred Co-Worker Scale – if you fall near the middle

of the scoring range, then it could be unclear which style of

leader you are.

Even under the best circumstances, the LPC scale only has

about a 50 percent reliable variance

29

Tanhenbaum &schmidt leadership continnum

originally written in 1958 and was later

updated in the year 1973.

Work suggests a continuum of possible

leadership behavior available to a manager.

The continuum presents a range of action

related to the degree of authority used by the

manager and to the area of freedom available

to non-managers in arriving at decisions.

30

A broad range of leadership styles have been

depicted on the continuum between two extremes

1. of autocratic(control is maintained by a manager )

2. free rein(release of control)

can be related to McGregor’s supposition of Theory

X and Theory Y.

Boss-centered leadership is towards theory X and

subordinate-centered leadership is towards theory

Y.

31

32

A manager is characterized according to degree of control that is maintained by him. According to this approach, four main styles of

leadership have been identified:

Managerial styles

TELLS SELLS

CONSULTS

JOINS

33

1. The Manager decides and announces the decision.

The manager reviews options in light of aims,

issues, priorities, timescale, etc., then decides the

action and informs the team of the decision.

The team plays no active part in making the

decision.

purely task-based decision, which is generally a

characteristic of X-Theory management style.

34

2. The manager decides and then 'sells' the decision to the group.

The manager makes the decision, and then

explains reasons for the decision to the team,

particularly the positive benefits that the team

will enjoy from the decision.

In so doing the manager is seen by the team to

recognize the team's importance

have some concern for the team.

35

3. The manager presents the decision with background ideas and invites

questions.

The manager presents the decision along with some of the

background which led to the decision.

The team is invited to ask questions and discuss with the manager

the rationale behind the decision, which enables the team to

understand and accept or agree with the decision

More participative and involving approach

enables the team to appreciate the issues and reasons for the

decision, and the implications of all the options.

This will have a more motivational approach than 1 or 2 because of

the higher level of team involvement and discussion.

36

4. The manager suggests a provisional decision and invites discussion about it.

The manager discusses and reviews the provisional decision

with the team

on the basis of this manager will take on board the views

and then finally decide.

Enables the team to have some real influence over the shape

of the manager's final decision.

Acknowledges that the team has something to contribute to

the decision-making process, which is more involving and

therefore motivating than the previous level.

37

5. The manager presents the situation or problem, gets suggestions, then decides.

The manager presents the situation, and maybe some options, to

the team.

Team is encouraged and expected to offer ideas and additional

options, and discuss implications of each possible course of

action.

The manager then decides which option to take

The team has more detailed knowledge or experience of the

issues than the manager.

high-involvement and high-influence for the team -provides more

motivation and freedom than any previous level.

38

6. The manager explains the situation, defines the parameters and asks the team to decide.

The manager has effectively delegated responsibility for the

decision to the team

The manager may or may not choose to be a part of the team

which decides.

Gives a huge responsibility to the team

Manager can control the risk and outcomes to an extent,

according to the constraints that he stipulates.

This level is more motivational than any previous but

requires a mature team for any serious situation or problem.

39

7. The manager allows the team to identify the problem, develop the options, and decide on the action, within the

manager's received limits.

an extreme level of freedom, whereby the team is effectively doing what the

manager did in level 1.

The team is given responsibility for

identifying and analyzing the situation or problem

the process for resolving it

developing and assessing options;

evaluating implications,

and then deciding on and implementing a course of action.

The manager may or may not be part of the team, and if so then he/she has

no more authority than anyone else in the team.

This level is potentially the most motivational of all, but also potentially the

most disastrous.

40

Transactional leadership

first described by Max Weber in 1947 and then by

Bernard Bass in 1981.

most often used by the managers.

It focuses on the basic management process of

controlling, organizing, and short-term planning.

The famous examples of leaders who have used

transactional technique include McCarthy

41

The power of transactional leaders comes from their formal

authority and responsibility in the organization.

main goal of the follower is to obey the instructions of the

leader.

can also be mentioned as a ‘telling style’.

The leader believes in motivating through a system of

rewards and punishment.

If a subordinate does what is desired, a reward will follow

if he does not go as per the wishes of the leader, a punishment will follow.

Here, the exchange between leader and follower takes place

to achieve routine performance goals.

42 Contingent Rewards: 

Transactional leaders link the goal to rewards. They set ‘specific,

measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely’ goals for their subordinates.

Active Management by Exception:

 actively monitor the work of their subordinates, watch for deviations from

rules and standards and taking corrective action to prevent mistakes.

Passive Management by Exception:

  intervene only when standards are not met or when the performance is not

as per the expectations. may even use punishment

Laissez-faire: 

The leader provides an environment where the subordinates get many

opportunities to make decisions.

exchanges involve four dimensions

43

Assumptions of Transactional Theory

Employees are motivated by reward and punishment.

The subordinates have to obey the orders of the

superior.

The subordinates are not self-motivated.

They have to be closely monitored and controlled to

get the work done from them.

44

Implications of Transactional Theory

overemphasize detailed and short-term goals, and standard

rules and procedures.

do not make an effort to enhance followers’ creativity and

generation of new ideas.

may work well where the organizational problems are simple

and clearly defined.

found to be quite effective in guiding efficiency decisions which

are aimed at cutting costs and improving productivity.

tend to be highly directive and action oriented and their

relationship with the followers tends to be rigid and not based

on emotional bonds.

45

Conclusion

The transactional style of leadership is viewed as

insufficient, but not bad, in developing the maximum

leadership potential.

care should be taken by leaders not to practice it

exclusively, otherwise it will lead to the creation of an

environment permeated by position, power, perks, and

politics.

46

Transformational theory

business leaders must be able to inspire

organizational members to go beyond their task

requirements –thus came transformational theory.

may be found at all levels of the organization: teams,

departments, divisions, and organization as a whole.

Such leaders are visionary, inspiring, daring, risk-

takers, and thoughtful thinkers.

They have a charismatic appeal.

47

For bringing major changes, transformational leaders must exhibit the following four factors:

48Inspirational Motivation: 

promotion of consistent vision, mission, and a set of values to the

members.

Their vision is so compelling that they know what they want from every

interaction.

work enthusiastically and optimistically to foster the spirit of teamwork

and commitment.

Intellectual Stimulation: leaders encourage their followers to be innovative and creative.

encourage new ideas from their followers and never criticize them

publicly for the mistakes committed by them.

no hesitation in discarding an old practice set by them if it is found

ineffective.

49Idealized Influence: 

believe that a leader can influence followers only when he practices what

he preaches.

typically place their followers needs over their own, sacrifice their personal

gains for them, and demonstrate high standards of ethical conduct.

power by such leaders is aimed at influencing them to strive for the

common goals of the organization.

Individualized Consideration: 

Leaders act as mentors to their followers and reward them for creativity

and innovation.

The followers are treated differently according to their talents and

knowledge.

50

Criticisms of Transformational Leadership Theory

Transformational leadership makes use of impression

management and therefore lends itself to amoral self

promotion by leaders

The theory is very difficult to be trained or taught

because it is a combination of many leadership

theories.

Followers might be manipulated by leaders and there

are chances that they lose more than they gain.

51

52