1.7C Problem 3
Who’s the Boss?
Does Leadership Matter?
Judge leaders effectiveness based on success of organisation they lead
Organisational leadership- talking about behaviour and effectiveness of individuals
who hold formal leadership roles in organisations
Trait Approach (first Great Man Approach)
First approach in understanding leadership
Leaders possess certain characteristics
Includes Big 5 traits associated with leadership: esp. extraversion and lack of
neuroticism
It matters who leads, regarding their traits
Men over-represented in leadership roles, while women are just as- if not
more- effective
Great man theory- examine leaders from the past
o Common theme of great leaders having either 1) galvanising
experience eg. overcoming an illness or 2) admirable trait eg.
intelligence
Studies shown, link between intelligence and leadership is low, more so when
the leader has high stress levels
Leader emergence theory- see which people in a group become leader and
look at their traits
C No consistent relationships found between traits and leadership
effectiveness
No consensus on what traits even meant or how to measure
them
C Over focused on productivity as criterion
C Little evidence
C Traits not a constant
C Ignored leadership in large content of organisation, situation, followers
C Some inappropriate traits linked with leadership eg. intelligence and
height
Power Approach to Leadership
Leaders have power- looks at the types of power
French and Raven 5 power types:
1. Reward power- potential of supervisor to dispense valued rewards
2. Coercive power- potential of supervisor to dispense punishments
3. Legitimate power- “right” of supervisor to influence subordinate and
obligation of subordinate to accept this influence
4. Referent power- identification of subordinate with supervisor; desire to
be like and act like the supervisor; power of example
5. Expert power- knowledge or expertise that supervisor has in a species
area
Use of power to increase other power bases (Example: managers)
Forming coalitions eg. managers from different departments forming alliances
Controlling important decisions eg. influencing members of decision making
committees
Co-opting the opposition eg. inviting strong appointment to join committee
Controlling information flow eg. limiting info distribution about bad decisions
Behavioural Approach
Ohio State University Studies
First classified leader behaviour into 10 behavioural broad categories
, Ultimately 2 basic leader behaviours:
Consideration- behaviour indicating mutual trust, respect,
and certain warmth/rapport between supervisor and group
Initiating structure- behaviour where supervisor organises
and defines group activities and their relationship to the
group
If both are high, leadership likely effective
C Theory uses pronoun “he” implying leaders are male
C Inconsistency of results between studies
C Subject to bias/error as studies used questionnaires
C Responses potentially influenced by respondents’ stereotypes of
characteristics found in successful leader
C May attribute desirable behaviour to leaders perceived as effective
University of Michigan Studies
Similar to Ohio studies as leader behaviours: (Michigan= red, Ohio= orange)
Task oriented behaviour similar to initiating structure
Relations-oriented behaviour similar to consideration
Different as emphasis on participation: participative behaviour- effective leaders
expend energy interacting with the work group as a whole
Study proved: Relations-oriented behaviour strong link to follower satisfaction,
motivation, leader effectiveness
Task-oriented behaviour strongly related to leader, group, individual
performance
Predict many work-related behaviours
C Ignore situational or environmental variables
Contingency Approach
Looks at role of situation in the exercise of leadership
Fiedler: Leader style interact with situation characteristics determines effectiveness
of leadership
People are motivated around task or people
Three situational aspects for appropriate leadership style: quality of leader-
follower relationships, existence of formal authority in the relationship, the
clarity of performance goals
C Relationship-motivated leaders more successful in moderate situations
C Little evidential support
Hersey and Blanchard: success of leadership approaches depends on maturity of
subordinate (job maturity- subordinate’s job-related ability, skills, knowledge;
psychological maturing- self-confidence and self-respect of the subordinate)
o High maturity subordinate= confidence and ability
o Subordinates with low maturity, structuring style would be most
effective: as maturity increases, decrease structuring and increase
considerate behaviour
o Fully mature subordinate is self-directed: no structured behaviour or
considered behaviour
x- Lacks support
House and Co: Path-goal theory: leader’s responsibility to 1) align organisations
goals and followers 2) help followers achieve those goals
Four leadership styles to motivation followers:
1. Participative leadership (engaging followers in decisions and feedback)
2. Supportive leadership (demonstrating concern for needs of followers)
3. Directive leadership (providing task structure, clear goals, contingent
feedback)
4. Achievement oriented leadership (setting high standards for performance
and challenging followers to achieve them)
Should adapt based on situation
Who’s the Boss?
Does Leadership Matter?
Judge leaders effectiveness based on success of organisation they lead
Organisational leadership- talking about behaviour and effectiveness of individuals
who hold formal leadership roles in organisations
Trait Approach (first Great Man Approach)
First approach in understanding leadership
Leaders possess certain characteristics
Includes Big 5 traits associated with leadership: esp. extraversion and lack of
neuroticism
It matters who leads, regarding their traits
Men over-represented in leadership roles, while women are just as- if not
more- effective
Great man theory- examine leaders from the past
o Common theme of great leaders having either 1) galvanising
experience eg. overcoming an illness or 2) admirable trait eg.
intelligence
Studies shown, link between intelligence and leadership is low, more so when
the leader has high stress levels
Leader emergence theory- see which people in a group become leader and
look at their traits
C No consistent relationships found between traits and leadership
effectiveness
No consensus on what traits even meant or how to measure
them
C Over focused on productivity as criterion
C Little evidence
C Traits not a constant
C Ignored leadership in large content of organisation, situation, followers
C Some inappropriate traits linked with leadership eg. intelligence and
height
Power Approach to Leadership
Leaders have power- looks at the types of power
French and Raven 5 power types:
1. Reward power- potential of supervisor to dispense valued rewards
2. Coercive power- potential of supervisor to dispense punishments
3. Legitimate power- “right” of supervisor to influence subordinate and
obligation of subordinate to accept this influence
4. Referent power- identification of subordinate with supervisor; desire to
be like and act like the supervisor; power of example
5. Expert power- knowledge or expertise that supervisor has in a species
area
Use of power to increase other power bases (Example: managers)
Forming coalitions eg. managers from different departments forming alliances
Controlling important decisions eg. influencing members of decision making
committees
Co-opting the opposition eg. inviting strong appointment to join committee
Controlling information flow eg. limiting info distribution about bad decisions
Behavioural Approach
Ohio State University Studies
First classified leader behaviour into 10 behavioural broad categories
, Ultimately 2 basic leader behaviours:
Consideration- behaviour indicating mutual trust, respect,
and certain warmth/rapport between supervisor and group
Initiating structure- behaviour where supervisor organises
and defines group activities and their relationship to the
group
If both are high, leadership likely effective
C Theory uses pronoun “he” implying leaders are male
C Inconsistency of results between studies
C Subject to bias/error as studies used questionnaires
C Responses potentially influenced by respondents’ stereotypes of
characteristics found in successful leader
C May attribute desirable behaviour to leaders perceived as effective
University of Michigan Studies
Similar to Ohio studies as leader behaviours: (Michigan= red, Ohio= orange)
Task oriented behaviour similar to initiating structure
Relations-oriented behaviour similar to consideration
Different as emphasis on participation: participative behaviour- effective leaders
expend energy interacting with the work group as a whole
Study proved: Relations-oriented behaviour strong link to follower satisfaction,
motivation, leader effectiveness
Task-oriented behaviour strongly related to leader, group, individual
performance
Predict many work-related behaviours
C Ignore situational or environmental variables
Contingency Approach
Looks at role of situation in the exercise of leadership
Fiedler: Leader style interact with situation characteristics determines effectiveness
of leadership
People are motivated around task or people
Three situational aspects for appropriate leadership style: quality of leader-
follower relationships, existence of formal authority in the relationship, the
clarity of performance goals
C Relationship-motivated leaders more successful in moderate situations
C Little evidential support
Hersey and Blanchard: success of leadership approaches depends on maturity of
subordinate (job maturity- subordinate’s job-related ability, skills, knowledge;
psychological maturing- self-confidence and self-respect of the subordinate)
o High maturity subordinate= confidence and ability
o Subordinates with low maturity, structuring style would be most
effective: as maturity increases, decrease structuring and increase
considerate behaviour
o Fully mature subordinate is self-directed: no structured behaviour or
considered behaviour
x- Lacks support
House and Co: Path-goal theory: leader’s responsibility to 1) align organisations
goals and followers 2) help followers achieve those goals
Four leadership styles to motivation followers:
1. Participative leadership (engaging followers in decisions and feedback)
2. Supportive leadership (demonstrating concern for needs of followers)
3. Directive leadership (providing task structure, clear goals, contingent
feedback)
4. Achievement oriented leadership (setting high standards for performance
and challenging followers to achieve them)
Should adapt based on situation
