Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CHAPTER 16
Leadership
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The central theme of leadership is getting things done through people. Leadership is a subset of
management. Early leadership research tried to develop a complete profile of the traits of the
successful leader. The findings of the trait approach to leadership are inconsistent.
The situational approach to leadership is based on the assumption that the instances of successful
leadership are somewhat different and require a unique combination of leaders, followers, and
leadership situations. The Tannenbaum-Schmidt Leadership Continuum is a situational approach
that shows how leadership decision-making behavior can range from autocratic to democratic.
According to these researchers, three primary forces influence a managers determination of
which leadership behavior to use to make decisions:(1) forces in the manager, (2) forces in
subordinates, and (3) forces in the situation. An update of this study shows that both societal and
organizational environments are a force to be continued with in the decision environment. A
decision-focused theory of leadership is the Vroom-Yetton-Jago Model, which focuses on how
much participation to allow subordinates in the decision-making process. The OSU studies are a
series of leadership investigations that concluded that leaders exhibit two main types of behavior:
(1) structure behavior and (2) consideration behavior. The OSU studies resulted in a model that
depicts four fundamental leadership styles, that are behavior patterns a leader establishes while
guiding organizations in appropriate directions. The Michigan Studies were conducted at about
the same time the OSU studies were being done. The Michigan Studies pinpointed two basic
types of leader behavior: (1) job-centered behavior and (2) employee-centered behavior. The
results of the OSU Studies and the Michigan Studies are very similar. The Hersey-Blanchard Life
Cycle Theory of Leadership is a rationale for linking leadership styles with various situations so as
to ensure effective leadership. The life cycle theory is based primarily on the relationship of
follower maturity, leader task behavior, and leader relationship behavior. Situational theories of
leadership are based on the concept of leader flexibilitythat successful leaders must change their
leadership style as they encounter different situations. One strategy proposed by Fred Fiedler was
to change the situation to fit the leaders style. According to the contingency theory of leadership,
leader-member relations, task structure, and the position power of the leader are the three primary
factors that should be used for moving leaders into appropriate leadership situations. Another
leadership theory is the path-goal theory of leadership, which suggests that the primary activity of
a leader should be to make desirable and achievable rewards available to organization members as
a result of attaining organizational goals and to clarify the kinds of behavior that must be
performed. According to this theory, leaders perform four primary types of behavior: (1) directive,
(2) supportive, (3) participative, and (4) achievement.
Transformational leadership is receiving more attention recently because of the dramatic changes
that many organizations are going through. Coaching leadership instructs followers on how to
meet the special challenges they face. Superleadership helps followers to lead themselves.
Servant leadership views leaders primary role as helping followers in their quests to satisfy
personal needs, aspirations, and interests. Entrepreneurial leadership views the leader as self-
employed. More attention to women as leaders has developed and it has been found that women
tend to lead in a transformational manner as opposed to men who lead in a transactional manner.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. A working definition of leadership
2. An understanding of the relationship between leading and managing
3. An appreciation for the trait and situational approaches to leadership
4. Insights into using leadership theories that emphasize decision-making situations
5. Insights about using leadership theories that emphasize more general organizational situations
6. An understanding of alternatives to leader flexibility
7. An appreciation of emerging leadership styles and leadership issues of today
DEFINING LEADERSHIP
A. Leadership is the process of directing the behavior of others toward the
accomplishment of some objectives.
B. Leader versus Manager
1. Leading is not the same as managing.
2. Leadership is a subset of management.
3. Managing is broader in scope than leading, and focuses on behavioral as well as
nonbehavioral issues.
4. Leading emphasizes mainly behavioral issues.
III.
IV.
Leadership Behaviors
1. The OSU Studies
a. The OSU studies are a series of leadership investigations that concluded that
leaders exhibit two main types of behavior:
1. Structure behavior is leadership activity that (1) delineates the relationship
between the leader and the leader's followers or (2) establishes welldefined procedures that the followers should adhere to in performing their
jobs.
2. Consideration behavior is leadership behavior reflecting friendship,
Mutual trust, respect, and warmth in the relationship between the leader
and the followers.
b. The OSU studies resulted in a model depicting four fundamental leadership
styles. (See Figure 16.5.)
c. Leadership style is the behavioral pattern a leader establishes while guiding
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LEADERSHIP TODAY
A. Transformational Leadership
1. Transformational leadership is leadership that inspires organizational success by
profoundly affecting followers beliefs in what an organization should be, as
well as followers values like justice and integrity.
2. Transformational leadership creates a sense of duty, encourages new ways of
handling problems, and promotes learning for all organization members.
B. Coaching
1. Coaching is leadership that instructs followers on how to meet organizational
challenges.
2. Characteristics of an effective coach can be found in Table 16.2.
3. A successful coach is characterized by the following:
a. Listens closely
b. Gives emotional support
c. Shows by example what constitutes appropriate behavior
C. Superleadership
1. Superleadership is leading by showing others how to lead.
D. Servant Leadership
1. Servant leadership is leadership through helping followers in their quests to
satisfy personal needs, aspirations, and interests.
E. Entrepreneurial Leadership
1. Entrepreneurial leadership is based on the attitude that the leader is selfemployed.