Organizational Behavior
Leadership
All about the employers (Groups level)
What Is Leadership?
• One of the most investigated social phenomena and complex and the most incomprehensible.
• What makes someone a leader?
• Is leadership a function of personality or circumstance?
• How does a person become a leader in their generation and often after their generation?
• What are the differentiating characteristics of a leader from a non-leader?
• Can we find similarities between different leaders (Gandhi, Churchill, Ben-Gurion, Barack
Obama, etc.)?
Leadership in the organization:
• The term leadership has many definitions, but everyone has a similar basis.
• A phenomenon that occurs in groups
• It has a "leader" and “followers"
• It involves processes of influence
• It has a purpose in achieving goals
Leadership Process:
Leadership theories:
• Four waves have been developed in the study of organizational leadership. From the beginning of the
century until today.
• Personality Traits and Leadership > Behavioral theories of leadership > Situational Leadership
Theory > The new leadership approach.
• Leadership theories try to explain leadership and sometimes make claims about effective leadership.
1. Personality Traits and Leadership
• The beginning of the century
• Emphasizes qualities that distinguish leaders from other people
2. Behavioral theories of leadership
a. The 1940s
b. Focused on leaders' behavior styles
, 3. Situational Leadership Theory
a. The 60's
b. Seeks to adapt a very effective leadership style to the environment in which the leader
operates
4. The new leadership approach
a. the 80s
b. Focuses on the leader's relations with his followers
Personality Traits and Leadership:
• One of the leadership definitions is that leadership is an ability.
• Indeed, one way to look at leadership is as a trait.
• The "Personality Traits and Leadership" is the view that leadership is not only a trait, it is also an
innate trait, one that will be viewed in many situations.
Anyone who has the feature can be a leader in many areas.
• From the beginning of the century until the 1950s, it was thought that there were people who were born to
be leaders (Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Ben Gurion, and
etc.).
• One of the major theories supporting this is the Great Person theory, whereby the leader has certain talents
and makes him a great person.
• These traits are inherited, but ... a suitable framework is needed for them to develop.
• This is an approach that provides support for a monarchical regime and marriage between royal families.
• The theory assumes that the leader has characteristics that distinguish them from the rest of the group, and
that a person who has these qualities will be a leader everywhere and in every situation.
• What are the qualities of a leader?
• The great person theory claims that leadership is a trait.
• But if this is a trait we want to understand what it consists of, what other attributes are related to it
(ambition? energy? wisdom?)
• What do you think? What qualities should a leader have?
• Over the years, studies have tried to find characteristics and common things that characterize leaders, but
were not able to agree on a list of such features.
• Even if they found certain features that stood out, it is unclear what their “proper dose” is supposed to be.
• Perhaps a lot of intelligence will interfere with communication
• It is also clear not every intelligent person is suitable or able to be a leader.
• As a result, the Personality Traits and Leadership lost popularity after a while.
• Leaders do not have the stable qualities that distinguish them from other people in a way that makes it
possible to define them.
• Personality Traits researchers failed to identify a set of universal attributes common to all leaders, under all
conditions.
• The approach failed to determine "who is the person born to be a leader." Even personality dimensions did
not really show direction.
, • In summary, although we often think of leadership as a trait, they have not been able to find out what
dimensions of personality it belongs to and we can say that this approach ultimately did not find sufficient
support in research.
Behavioral theories of leadership:
• After the overwhelming failure of personality trait theories in the 1930s and 1940s, a counter-approach
developed, claiming that any person could actually be a leader.
• According to this approach, an effective leader is a person who displays certain behaviors and any person
who shows these behaviors can be a leader.
• Many studies have been influenced by this approach, trying to identify what is the most effective behavior
in leading people. That is, they studied different management styles, and tried to link them to effectiveness.
• Behavioral theories of leadership: we can determine leadership effectiveness by leader behavior, and
perhaps train people to be leaders
• The Ohio State Studies
• The behavioral theories of leadership focus on the premise that behaviors can be taught and traits cannot, so
leaders are trained, not born.
• Lewin, Lippitt & White (1939)
• One of the first studies on this subject. These researchers identified three main leadership styles:
1. Authoritarian (controlling)
• An authoritative leader – control the group and the mission. Defines the group's policy,
goals, and the course of action to achieve the goals. Decide everything by themselves.
2. Democratic
• A democratic leader - allows group members to set policy while discussing it.
Gives everyone the chance to participate in the decisions. Encouraging, offers ideas
and solutions, but does not give orders.
3. Laisses - faire – “let-do” No intervention
• Laissez-faire leader (Let do) (not intervening) - gives the group members total freedom.
Does not take part in decision making. Not intervening at all, not encouraging or
criticizing.
• Conducted an experiment to examine the effectiveness of the three types of management: the subjects were
a group of children, who came to participate in an afternoon class. They had several tasks to perform.
• They divided the children into three groups - each group worked with a leader that had a different
leadership style (the leaders rotated between the groups every 6 weeks).
• The researchers checked the group according to several dimensions.
• Conducted an experiment to examine the effectiveness of the three types of management: the subjects were
a group of children, who came to participate in an afternoon class. They had several tasks to perform.
• They divided the children into three groups - each group worked with a leader that had a different
leadership style (the leaders rotated between the groups every 6 weeks).
• The researchers checked the group according to several dimensions.
• An authoritative leader - group most efficiently (quickly, without wasting time) but only in the presence
of the leader !! (When he left the room they stopped working). In addition, in this group the level of
, satisfaction was very low: the children did not enjoy and were not interested in the tasks. The level of
hostility and aggression in the group was very high.
• A democratic leader - less efficient - time was wasted in discussions . Higher quality of work (children
were motivated to invest). The children continued to work, even without the presence of the leader. In
addition, the highest degree of satisfaction and interest.
• The non-intervention leader - the pace of work was very slow, most of the time the children sat and
played, and the level of interest in the tasks was low as well as satisfaction.
• Levin and his colleagues concluded from this experiment:
• That the preferred style of leadership is democratic
• As we shall see later, the answer is not always true…
• They pointed out one of the dimensions as interesting and important- How much the leader
shares with their followers the decisions need to be taken, how much he directs and guides
them.
• This dimension will be expressed in more advanced leadership approaches, which we will discuss
later.
• Two additional dimensions important when discussing management styles (suggested by a group of
researchers from Ohio State University) are:
• Mission/task - oriented
This style is characterized by an emphasis on defining the goals of the mission, and clarifying the
way in which these goals are being sought.
• Behaviors such as: planning activities, identifying problems that require resolution,
providing information, advice and criticism, etc.
• Relationships/people - oriented
This style is characterized by an emphasis on forming good relationships with the members of the
group.
• Behaviors such as: settling conflicts, taking care of the satisfaction of each member of the
group, etc.
• In the past, these two dimensions were thought to be the ends of one continuum - a leader who scores high
in task oriented will score low in relationships and vice versa.
• However, Studies show that both dimensions are independent. A person can be high in one, both or even
low in both
• A representative model of the behavioral approach is the Managerial Grid. The Managerial Grid consists
of four management styles that are characterized by four points over the network.
Leadership
All about the employers (Groups level)
What Is Leadership?
• One of the most investigated social phenomena and complex and the most incomprehensible.
• What makes someone a leader?
• Is leadership a function of personality or circumstance?
• How does a person become a leader in their generation and often after their generation?
• What are the differentiating characteristics of a leader from a non-leader?
• Can we find similarities between different leaders (Gandhi, Churchill, Ben-Gurion, Barack
Obama, etc.)?
Leadership in the organization:
• The term leadership has many definitions, but everyone has a similar basis.
• A phenomenon that occurs in groups
• It has a "leader" and “followers"
• It involves processes of influence
• It has a purpose in achieving goals
Leadership Process:
Leadership theories:
• Four waves have been developed in the study of organizational leadership. From the beginning of the
century until today.
• Personality Traits and Leadership > Behavioral theories of leadership > Situational Leadership
Theory > The new leadership approach.
• Leadership theories try to explain leadership and sometimes make claims about effective leadership.
1. Personality Traits and Leadership
• The beginning of the century
• Emphasizes qualities that distinguish leaders from other people
2. Behavioral theories of leadership
a. The 1940s
b. Focused on leaders' behavior styles
, 3. Situational Leadership Theory
a. The 60's
b. Seeks to adapt a very effective leadership style to the environment in which the leader
operates
4. The new leadership approach
a. the 80s
b. Focuses on the leader's relations with his followers
Personality Traits and Leadership:
• One of the leadership definitions is that leadership is an ability.
• Indeed, one way to look at leadership is as a trait.
• The "Personality Traits and Leadership" is the view that leadership is not only a trait, it is also an
innate trait, one that will be viewed in many situations.
Anyone who has the feature can be a leader in many areas.
• From the beginning of the century until the 1950s, it was thought that there were people who were born to
be leaders (Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Ben Gurion, and
etc.).
• One of the major theories supporting this is the Great Person theory, whereby the leader has certain talents
and makes him a great person.
• These traits are inherited, but ... a suitable framework is needed for them to develop.
• This is an approach that provides support for a monarchical regime and marriage between royal families.
• The theory assumes that the leader has characteristics that distinguish them from the rest of the group, and
that a person who has these qualities will be a leader everywhere and in every situation.
• What are the qualities of a leader?
• The great person theory claims that leadership is a trait.
• But if this is a trait we want to understand what it consists of, what other attributes are related to it
(ambition? energy? wisdom?)
• What do you think? What qualities should a leader have?
• Over the years, studies have tried to find characteristics and common things that characterize leaders, but
were not able to agree on a list of such features.
• Even if they found certain features that stood out, it is unclear what their “proper dose” is supposed to be.
• Perhaps a lot of intelligence will interfere with communication
• It is also clear not every intelligent person is suitable or able to be a leader.
• As a result, the Personality Traits and Leadership lost popularity after a while.
• Leaders do not have the stable qualities that distinguish them from other people in a way that makes it
possible to define them.
• Personality Traits researchers failed to identify a set of universal attributes common to all leaders, under all
conditions.
• The approach failed to determine "who is the person born to be a leader." Even personality dimensions did
not really show direction.
, • In summary, although we often think of leadership as a trait, they have not been able to find out what
dimensions of personality it belongs to and we can say that this approach ultimately did not find sufficient
support in research.
Behavioral theories of leadership:
• After the overwhelming failure of personality trait theories in the 1930s and 1940s, a counter-approach
developed, claiming that any person could actually be a leader.
• According to this approach, an effective leader is a person who displays certain behaviors and any person
who shows these behaviors can be a leader.
• Many studies have been influenced by this approach, trying to identify what is the most effective behavior
in leading people. That is, they studied different management styles, and tried to link them to effectiveness.
• Behavioral theories of leadership: we can determine leadership effectiveness by leader behavior, and
perhaps train people to be leaders
• The Ohio State Studies
• The behavioral theories of leadership focus on the premise that behaviors can be taught and traits cannot, so
leaders are trained, not born.
• Lewin, Lippitt & White (1939)
• One of the first studies on this subject. These researchers identified three main leadership styles:
1. Authoritarian (controlling)
• An authoritative leader – control the group and the mission. Defines the group's policy,
goals, and the course of action to achieve the goals. Decide everything by themselves.
2. Democratic
• A democratic leader - allows group members to set policy while discussing it.
Gives everyone the chance to participate in the decisions. Encouraging, offers ideas
and solutions, but does not give orders.
3. Laisses - faire – “let-do” No intervention
• Laissez-faire leader (Let do) (not intervening) - gives the group members total freedom.
Does not take part in decision making. Not intervening at all, not encouraging or
criticizing.
• Conducted an experiment to examine the effectiveness of the three types of management: the subjects were
a group of children, who came to participate in an afternoon class. They had several tasks to perform.
• They divided the children into three groups - each group worked with a leader that had a different
leadership style (the leaders rotated between the groups every 6 weeks).
• The researchers checked the group according to several dimensions.
• Conducted an experiment to examine the effectiveness of the three types of management: the subjects were
a group of children, who came to participate in an afternoon class. They had several tasks to perform.
• They divided the children into three groups - each group worked with a leader that had a different
leadership style (the leaders rotated between the groups every 6 weeks).
• The researchers checked the group according to several dimensions.
• An authoritative leader - group most efficiently (quickly, without wasting time) but only in the presence
of the leader !! (When he left the room they stopped working). In addition, in this group the level of
, satisfaction was very low: the children did not enjoy and were not interested in the tasks. The level of
hostility and aggression in the group was very high.
• A democratic leader - less efficient - time was wasted in discussions . Higher quality of work (children
were motivated to invest). The children continued to work, even without the presence of the leader. In
addition, the highest degree of satisfaction and interest.
• The non-intervention leader - the pace of work was very slow, most of the time the children sat and
played, and the level of interest in the tasks was low as well as satisfaction.
• Levin and his colleagues concluded from this experiment:
• That the preferred style of leadership is democratic
• As we shall see later, the answer is not always true…
• They pointed out one of the dimensions as interesting and important- How much the leader
shares with their followers the decisions need to be taken, how much he directs and guides
them.
• This dimension will be expressed in more advanced leadership approaches, which we will discuss
later.
• Two additional dimensions important when discussing management styles (suggested by a group of
researchers from Ohio State University) are:
• Mission/task - oriented
This style is characterized by an emphasis on defining the goals of the mission, and clarifying the
way in which these goals are being sought.
• Behaviors such as: planning activities, identifying problems that require resolution,
providing information, advice and criticism, etc.
• Relationships/people - oriented
This style is characterized by an emphasis on forming good relationships with the members of the
group.
• Behaviors such as: settling conflicts, taking care of the satisfaction of each member of the
group, etc.
• In the past, these two dimensions were thought to be the ends of one continuum - a leader who scores high
in task oriented will score low in relationships and vice versa.
• However, Studies show that both dimensions are independent. A person can be high in one, both or even
low in both
• A representative model of the behavioral approach is the Managerial Grid. The Managerial Grid consists
of four management styles that are characterized by four points over the network.
