Topic 9
Leadership
MGTS7601
Managing Organisational Behaviour
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Leadership
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Social arrangement where a small group of people influence a larger
group of people to work towards a goal
Key issues in leadership
• Leadership vs. management
• Formal vs. informal leadership
• Romance of leadership
• What is good leadership: Process vs. outcomes?
What is leadership?
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Managers make things happen and keep work on schedule, and
engage in routine interactions to fulfil planned actions.
Leaders inspire, create opportunities, coach and motivate people to
gain support.
Leaders vs. managers
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Traditional perspectives
• Competency perspective
• Managerial perspective
New perspectives
• Implicit leadership
• Transformational perspective
Perspectives on leadership
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Traditional Leadership Perspectives
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Personal characteristics lead to superior performance
Early research
• Stogdill’s foundational work
• Very few traits predicted effective leadership
Emerging view
• Discovery of competencies associated with leadership potential and effective
leaders, different from foundational work
Competency perspective
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Personality Extraversion and conscientiousness
Self-concept Positive self-evaluation
High self-esteem and self-efficacy
Internal locus of control
Drive Inner motivation to pursue goals
Inquisitiveness, action-oriented
Integrity Truthfulness, consistency in words and actions
Leadership motivation High need for socialised power to achieve organisational goals
Knowledge of the business Understand external environment
Aid intuitive decision making
Cognitive / practical intelligence Above average cognitive ability
Able to solve real-world problems
Emotional intelligence Perceiving, expressing, understanding, and regulating, and
attending to emotions
Leadership competencies
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• Task-oriented vs. people oriented leadership
• Fiedler’s contingency theory
• Path-goal leadership model
• Leadership substitutes
Managerial perspective
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Task oriented leaders People oriented leaders
Assign work and clarify responsibilities Show interest in others as people
Set goals and deadlines Listen to employees
Evaluate and provide feedback on
work quality
Make the workplace more pleasant
Establish well-defined best work
procedures
Compliment employees for their work
Plan future work activities Are considerate of employee needs
Task vs. people oriented leadership styles
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Leaders predominately use task or relationship oriented style but
their effectiveness depends on situational characteristics
• Leader-member relations
• Task structure
• Leader position power
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
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Leaders should form a connection between the follower’s personal
goal and organizational goals
Leaders should be capable of selecting the most appropriate style
• Directive
• Supportive
• Participative
• Achievement oriented
Path-Goal Theory
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Employee contingencies
• Skill and experience
• Locus of control
Environmental contingencies
• Task structure
• Team dynamics
Contingencies of Path-Goal Theory
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Leadership substitutes
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Individual characteristics Impact on leadership
Experience, ability, training Substitute for task oriented leadership
Professional orientation Substitute for task oriented and supportive leadership
Indifference to rewards Neutralises for task oriented and supportive leadership
Job characteristics Impact on leadership
High structured / routine Substitute for task oriented leadership
Intrinsically satisfying Substitute for supportive leadership
Organisation characteristics Impact on leadership
Cohesive work group Substitute for task oriented and supportive leadership
Low leader position power Neutralises for task oriented and supportive leadership
Leader physically separated Neutralises for task oriented and supportive leadership
New Leadership Perspectives
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Charismatic leaders are those leaders have a profound and
extraordinary effect on followers.
• Self-confidence
• A vision
• Ability to articulate the vision
• Strong convictions about the vision
• Behavior that is out of the ordinary
• Perceived as being a change agent
• Environment sensitivity
Charismatic leadership
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Transformational leaders
• Develop a vision to guide in attaining quality, performance, productivity
• Model the vision
• Encourage experimentation
• Build a commitment to vision
Transactional leaders
• Motivate by focusing rewards, punishment, and negotiation
Transformational leadership
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The “Four I’s”
• Idealised influence
• Inspirational motivation
• Individualised consideration
• Intellectual stimulation
Undesirable consequences of transformational leadership
• Leader visions are not always good for society or ethical
• Leaders can focus on their own goals (i.e., narcissistic)
What do transformational leaders do
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Based on the idea of social networks,
explains what happens when
relationships form between leaders
and followers
• Good relationships lead to leaders
and followers sharing knowledge
and resources in extended network
• Bad relationships do not lead to
such sharing
Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory
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Leader
Leader’s
contact
Leader’s
contact
Leader’s
contact
Leader’s
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Follower Follower
Follower’s
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Follower’s
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Follower’s
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Develop a personal style that is based on self-knowledge
• Do not pretend to be someone else
• Goals are based on passion that serves organisation or society
• Apply values to behaviours and decisions
• Requires self-reflection and incorporating feedback from trusted sources
Authentic leadership
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Follower perceptions of characteristics of effective leaders
Effective leadership prototypes
• Preconceived beliefs of features and behaviours of effective leaders
• Influence perceptions of leader effectiveness
• Develop through socialisation
• Affected by culture
Implicit Leadership Theory
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Characterised by four virtues:
• Prudence
• Courage
• Temperance
• Justice
Employees and stakeholders can demand and support ethical
processes, policies, and climates
Ethical leadership
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Task- and people-oriented leadership does not depend on gender
Participative leadership style is used more often by female leaders
Evaluating female leaders
• Receive negative evaluations as because of implicit beliefs and stereotypes
• Evidence suggests women are better then men at coaching, teamwork, and
empowering styles
Gender issues in leadership
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The effects of leadership on performance are modest because
• People selected as leaders are similar in background, experience, and
qualifications to followers.
• Leaders at even the highest levels don’t have complete control over
resources
• Many factors can’t be controlled or modified by a leader
• We associate success with the leader rather than the team
Leadership and effectiveness
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“What makes for a good leader?” Still an open debate, as it is a
complex question
Research has identified better ways to interact than just providing
rewards and punishments: e.g., Four I’s
Research also shows what often happens in organisations, namely
favouritism and uneven ‘leadership’: LMX theory
Summary
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Thank you