MGT602 LEADERSHIP IN
ORGANIZATIONS
SESSION 04: CLASSICAL LEADERSHIP THEORIES II
Prof. Kelly Xing Chen
kellychen@ln.edu.hk
SEK102/4
RECAP
• What is trait?
Trait Approach of Leadership
• What are the important traits that studies have shown to predict
leadership effectiveness?
• Major leadership traits (intelligence, self-confidence, determination,
integrity, and sociability)
• OCEAN
• Need for achievement, self-confidence, need for affiliation
• Appealing concept
• Research-driven
• Focused heavily on the leader him/herself
• Help set some benchmark
• Identify and select individuals for training programs
Strengths of the Trait Approach
Skills of Effective Leaders
Mumford’s Skill-Based Model (2000)
6
• Leader-centered model
Strengths of the Skill Approach
• Intuitively appealing
• Expansive view of leadership considering many relationships
and possibilities
• Provides a clear structure that facilitates leadership education
programs and training
(Values of skills across different management level)
(Any one with the right skills can be a leader)
(Includes multiple components, and their relationships)
(Tr ining can target specific skill d emed important to
leadersh p effectiveness)
BEHAVIORAL APPROACH
• Understand leader task behaviors & relationship behaviors
• What are task behaviors and relationship behaviors?
• How can a leader use these behaviors to be more effective?
Learning objectives
• How can the managerial (leadership) grid help us understand
leadership styles?
• What do you think of the Integrated Model of Leadership
Behavior (IMoLB)?
CASE STUDY
1. Do you agree with Betty or Marianne? Whose
leadership behaviors are more effective?
2. What advice will you give to Betty and/or
Marianne in terms of their leadership behaviors?
A short history of leadership research
< 1940
(from 1890s)
Leader Traits and Descriptions of Behaviors
1950s – 1970s Production/Job-oriented vs. People/Employee-oriented
Initiating Structure vs. Consideration
Theory X & Theory Y
The Managerial Grid Model
1980s Leader-Member Exchange
Transformational, Visionary & Charismatic Leadership
1990s Empowering, Participative Leadership, Ethical Leadership,
Servant Leadership, Shared Leadership, Abusive Supervision
• Concerned with efficient and reliable task accomplishment
Task Behaviors (Production-oriented or Initiating Structure)
• Planning work activities (define objectives and priorities, scheduling,
detailed action steps, contingency planning, resource allocations)
• Clarifying roles and objectives (define responsibilities, set goals, and
assign tasks)
• Monitoring operations and performance (progress, subordinate
performance, project quality)
• Concerned with developing people, maintaining goodwill for
cooperation, and promoting job satisfaction and organizational
commitment
Relationship Behaviors (Employee-oriented or Consideration)
• Supporting (show consideration, acceptance, and concern)
• Developing people (mentoring, coaching, and providing development
opportunities)
• Providing praise and recognition (giving praise and showing appreciation)
Task vs. Relationship Behaviors: Do we need both?
Planning work activities
Clarifying roles and objectives
Monitoring operations and performance
Supportive leadership
Developing subordinates
Providing praise and recognition
What would happen if …
• Monitor without support and recognition:
• Support without clarification & monitor:
• Develop people without planning, clarifying and monitoring:
Task vs. Relationship Behaviors: Use both cautiously
From Holtz & Harold (2013)
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Managerial Grid Model (Blake & Mouton, 1960s)
Theory Y
Employees are self-motivated,
enjoy challenge and learning,
and can be trusted. Holding
high expectations and
providing support without
taking responsibility away
brings out the best.
Theory X
Employees are lazy, dislike
work, and avoid it when
possible. Direction, controls,
and punishment is needed to
ensure results.
Paternalism/Maternalism
• Refers to a leader who uses both
1,9 and 9,1 styles but does not
integrate the two.
• Paternalistic/maternalistic
leaders are often described as
“fatherly” or “motherly” toward
their followers, regard the
organization as a “family,” make
most of the key decisions, and
reward loyalty and obedience
while punishing noncompliance.
Opportunism
• Refers to a leader who uses any combination of the basic five
styles for the purpose of personal advancement.
• Some phrases used to describe this leadership behavior include
ruthless, cunning, and self-motivated, while some could argue
that these types of leaders are adaptable and strategic.
Integrated Model of Leadership Behavior (IMoLB)
(Behrendt, Matz, & Göritz, 2017)
The IMoLB relates task-oriented
behavior to organizational change
demands through envisioning
change, innovation, and
encouraging learning.
Relations-oriented behavior
relates to influencing followers to
meet the external demands of
networking, monitoring the
environment, and mobilizing
resources to respond to them.
• Provides a framework for assessing leadership in a broad way,
as behavior with a task and relationship dimension
How Does the Behavioral Approach Work?
• Reminds leaders that their actions toward others occur on a
task level and a relationship level
• Different models to showcase how leaders adopt different
approaches according to the situation
• Shifts focus away from traits like the skills approach
Strengths of the Behavioral Approach
• Validated and credible
• Core leadership process
• Heuristic nature
• Not much mention about the link to performance outcomes
Criticisms of the Behavioral Approach
• Leadership behavior questionnaire typically completed by
followers, therefore based on perceptions and not actual
• No conclusive result of universal behaviors that are associated
with effective leadership (may be affected by situation or
leadership characteristics or followers)
• Based on the U.S.-centric perspective, reflecting the norms and
values of U.S. culture
• Self-assessment or professionally assessed
Applying the behavioral Approach
• Allows for a structure in leadership training and development
programs
• Check out Grid International
We cannot count the number of times that managers
have told us that they handled a particular problem
the ‘only way’ it could be done. Such statements betray
a failure of both imagination and courage… Managers
are imprisoned only to the degree that their palette of
ideas is impoverished.
Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal
Nugget of knowledge
SITUATIONAL APPROACH
Learning objectives
• How leaders adapt their styles to the demands of different
situation
• Applying the Situational Leadership II (SLII) Model
Situational Leadership II Model (SLII)
Situational Leadership II Model (SLII)
Remember?
• Supportive: Listening,
providing feedback, providing
recognition, giving
encouragement, asking for
inputs
• Directive: Setting goals,
focusing on what and how to
achieve objectives/targets
Situational Leadership II Model (SLII)
Using the SLII
• Determine where are followers’ development levels
• Adapt leadership styles accordingly
• For example, a D1/D2 follower would be better matched with a
S1/S2 leadership style
• Useful for corporate training
Strengths of the Situational Approach
• Straightforward and easy to understand
• Prescriptive value
• Emphasizes on leader flexibility
• Understand that every employee’s needs and goal can be
different
• Assumptions and propositions should still undergo more testing
and validation
Criticisms of the Situational Approach
• Insufficient justifications on the model of followers’
development levels: How commitment and competence
combine to determine/form four distinct levels of development
• The perspective on commitment is based on feeling, and not
backed with evidence: Is there chances that people might not
follow this order?
• No clear consideration of demographic characteristics: Does age
and gender affect how people view supportive and directive
leadership style?
Criticisms of the Situational Approach
• Practically, is the SLII only applicable in a one-to-one approach
or can it be expanded to account for groups and team level?
• Is there any other further leadership styles beyond directing,
coaching, supporting, and delegating?
• Good guide for leaders to practice when applicable
Applying the Situational Approach
• Applies at any stage of a project and on different employees
• Covers almost any type of organization, corporate levels, and
goals
Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the
self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in
themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.
—Sam Walton
Nugget of knowledge
PATH-GOAL THEORY
Learning objectives
• What does path-goal theory rely on and what does it mean for
leaders?
• What are the specific leader behaviors, follower characteristics,
and task characteristics that we focus on?
Basic Idea Behind Path-Goal Theory
The stated goal of this theory is to enhance follower performance and follower
satisfaction by focusing on follower motivation and the nature of the work tasks.
Under this theory, leaders should design and facilitate a healthy and productive
work environment to propel followers toward success.
Major components of Path-Goal Theory (Evans,1970; House,1971)
Psychological Mechanisms: Path-Goal Theory (Evans, 1970; House, 1971)
MOTIVATIONS
Expectancy: probability
of an outcome
Valence: desirability of
an outcome
Directive
Supportive
Participative
Achievement-
Oriented
Leader Behaviors
• Directive leadership
• Task-oriented leadership (initiating structure)
• Clarifying behaviors that provide psychological structure
• Clarify performance goals
• Clarify means to reach those goals
• The standards against which performance will be judged
• Supportive leadership
• People-oriented leadership (consideration)
• Psychological support, attend to well-being and human needs of followers
• Treat followers as equals and respect their status
• When the task is unstructured and complex, subordinates are
inexperienced, and there is little formalization of roles and procedures
Psychological Mechanisms: Path-Goal Theory (Evans, 1970; House, 1971)
• When the task is stressful, boring, tedious, or dangerous…
Psychological Mechanisms: Path-Goal Theory (Evans, 1970; House, 1971)
Leader Behaviors
• Participative leadership
• Encourage/facilitate employee involvement
• Consult employee and ask for suggestions
• Reflect on employees’ views before deciding
• Achievement-Oriented leadership
• Encourage peak performance through challenging goal setting
• Establishes a high standard of excellence
• Continuously seek improvement in performance
• Show a high degree of confidence in employees
Follower Characteristics
Need for affiliation
Preference for structure
Desires for control
Self-perceived level of
task ability
•
•
•
•
Directive leadership
Supportive leadership
Participative leadership
Achievement-oriented
leadership
•
•
•
•
Task Characteristics
Design of followers’ tasks • Unclear and ambiguous vs.
Highly repetitive
Formal authority system • Clear directory of who to
approach and under what
situations
Primary work group of followers • Strong bonds and supportive
between team members vs.
weak and nonsupportive
PUTTING EVERYTHING TOGETHER…

• Expanded theoretical framework with more varieties of
leadership
Strengths of the Path-Goal Theory
• Integrates motivational theory
• Practical value
• Too complex and incorporates too many things to be used easily
at once
Criticisms of the Path-Goal Theory
• Directive and supportive leadership have been given more
attention to the rest, resulting in less research support for the
whole theory
• Questions remain about the different leadership styles on
demographic differences, e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, etc.
• Integration of expectancy theory of motivation into path-goal
theory is still not perfect
Criticisms of the Path-Goal Theory
• Not recommendation on how leaders can effectively use path-
goal theory
• “Leader-centric” approach without much inputs from the
followers and how followers may determine the leadership style
they receive
• General set of recommendations, a map that provides
guidelines on how to lead
Applying the Path-Goal Theory
• Useful across all levels in the organization and for all types of
tasks, but leaders should assess followers and tasks
carefully/accurately before attempting appropriate leadership
style
"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great
leader takes people where they don't necessarily want
to go, but ought to be.”
- Rosalynn Carter
Nugget of knowledge

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