Week 1 Introduction and Leadership

Week 1 – Introduction and Leadership Lecture 1 Leadership definition

• A process of social influence whereby a leader

steers members of a group toward a goal (Bryman, 1992)

• A process of social influence in which a person

is able to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a task” (Chemer, 2000)

• Trait theories of leadership (before 40s)
• The trait theory suggest that leaders are born
• They consider how personality, social,

physical or intellectual traits may differentiate leaders from non-leaders

• Personality has not been found to be highly

predictive, but in terms of the big five

personality framework:

• Extraversion: found to be most important

factor of the big 5 – although it I more predictive of leader emergence than

leader effectiveness: sociable/assertive

people are more likely to assert themselves in group situation • Conscientiousness and openness to experience also show quite strong and consistent relationships to leadership ð While traits can predict leadership, they are better at predicting leader emergence than effectiveness ð Also, while traits help us to predict leadership, they don’t help us to explain leadership. There is always an indirect effect between trait and the outcome of leadership

• Leadership behavior (late 40s – 60s)
• Behavior is directly observable
• Behavior can be more easily be changed
• More direct relationship with leadership

effectiveness

• Being able to distinguish (in)effective

leadership behavior will help us to design

leadership talent management systems: hire,

develop, and promote the skills necessary for leadership success

ð Key assumption: there are universally

effective leadership behaviors Contradictory findings relating behavioral “styles”

of leadership to relevant outcome:

• The most effective leadership style also

appears to depend on the criteria used to judge effectiveness

• Consideration: is especially important for

follower satisfaction and motivation (people oriented) • Initiating structure is especially important for group/organizational performance (task- oriented

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• Contingency (Late 60s – 80s)

These approaches suggest that the most effective way for a leader to behave (OV) on:

- PV1 Leader: trait, experience, styles, skills

- Moderator - Follower: Capabilities, motivation

- Moderator - Situation: task, environment

The contingency model: Fiedler (1967, 1971) argued that a key factor in leadership success is the individual’s basic leadership style 2 / 4

The contingency model:

- Premise: leaders are not that flexible in terms

of their behavior => one leader fit all ð Specifically, Fiedler argued that leadership style is fixed => we can either craft the situation to our tendencies or choose the right leader for a specific situation

• Somewhat like a trait theory, but the

effectiveness of the leader is not universal, it depends on the situation

• He created the LPC (least preferred co-worker

scale) which purports to measure whether a person is a task or relationship-oriented

Leader’s motivation hierarchy:

- Low LPC: Task-oriented, very effective at

completing tasks, quick to organize groups to get tasks and projects done, relationship- building is not a priority

- High LPC: relationship-oriented, focus on

personal connections, good at avoiding and managing conflict, task accomplishment is secondary Motivation hierarchy

• Low LPC leaders are primarily motivated by the

task. If tasks are being accomplished in an acceptable manner, they will move to their secondary motivation – forming/maintaining relationships with followers

• Conversely, high LPC-leaders are primarily

motivated by relationships. Once these are established, they will move on to focus on task accomplishment

Situational Favorability

• The LPC scale could predict leader

effectiveness reliably if 3 situational factors

are considered:

(1) Leader-member relationship: the degree

of confidence, trust, and respect that member have in their leader

(2) Task structure: the degree to which the

job assignments are structured (clear and detailed – vague and general)

(3) Position power: the degree of influence a

leader has over power-variables, such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions and salary ð The theory suggests that the more “control” a leader has, the more favorable the situation (the higher the situational favorability) Assessment of Fiedler’s contingency model

So leadership effectiveness is contingent upon:

• Motivation hierarchy leader
• Situation favorability (LM relation, task

structure, and position power) What are the positives?

• Considerable evidence supports the model,

especially if the original eight situations are grouped into three (most favorable, least favorable and the middle ground) What are the criticisms?

• The logic behind the LPC scale is not well

understood

• No flexibility in leaders, is this true? =>

research suggests LPC scores are not stable

• Contingency variables are complex and hard

to determine

• Charismatic leadership (> 1990 – vision

inspiration) A leader can inspire and motivate followers to perform at high levels and to be committed to the organization or the leader’s vision => Obama

Characteristics:

• Have a clear vision and articulation

How do charismatic leadership influence followers?

• Leaders articulates an attractive vision –

must be inspirational, value-centered, realizable, and given with superior imaginary and articulation 3 / 4

• Are willing to take personal risks to achieve

that vision

• Are sensitive to followers’ needs
• Exhibit unconventional behavior

Charismatic leaders are likely to be extraverted, self-confident, and achievement-oriented How to become more charismatic?

• Use your passion as a catalyst to stir

enthusiasm

• Speak in an animated voice
• Reinforce your message with eye contact and

facial expressions

• Gesture for emphasis
• Tap into the emotions of followers
• Create an inspirational bond with them
• Leader communicates high performance

expectations and confidence in a follower’s ability

• Leader conveys a new set of values by setting

an example

• Leader engages in emotion-inducing and

often unconventional behavior to demonstrate convictions about the visions Does charisma work well in all situation?

- Charisma works best when:

• There is a lot of stress and uncertainty in the environment • The leader is at the upper level of the organization • Followers have low self-esteem and self- worth

• Meaning-based leadership ( > 2015)
• The purpose of an organization is its most

fundamental objective, which capture to what ends the organization exists and why this is meaningful The core role of leadership in organizations is mobilizing and motivating people for the pursuit of the organization’s purpose • Connect daily tasks and overarching organization’s purpose • Deeper significance, beyond just profit or task completion Seminar 1 – SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY Situational Leadership Theory

• Successful leadership depends on selecting the

right leadership style contingent on the

followers’ readiness: the extent to which

followers are willing (or motivated and confident) and able to perform a given task ð Different basic assumptions compared to Fiedler’s contingency model

ð Draw upon Ohio state studies: consideration vs

initiating structure as 2 independent dimensions Situational leadership theory (Paul Hersey and Ben Blanchard)

(1) TELLING: (unable, unwilling) high on

initiating structure and low on consideration => give detailed instruction, describe what exactly to do => Richard => you decide

(2) SELLING: (unable, willing) high on initiating

and high on consideration => giving specific instructions and oversee performance, also support followers by explaining why the task is important, work on relationship => Will

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