LEADERSHIP THEORIESNelia B. Perez RN, MSNPCU – Mary Johnston College of NursingPhilippines 1012

Leadership . . .

A subject that provokes many questions.

Important Questions

Why do some leaders inspire? How do some leaders create empires? How can some losers come to occupy

places of great power? Why do some followers suddenly reject

their leaders? Why are some followers willing to give

their lives for the leader?

Drucker: "Leadership is something scientific but has

artistic expression"

What makes for a good leader?Is it…

Compassion?

Persistence?

Charisma?

Service to others?

Ambition?

Energetic?

Herb Kelleher -Southwest Airlines

Vision?

(Sam Walton - WalMart)

Making a case, in 1986, in Little Rock,

Ark., that buying American products

could be the answer to the country's trade

deficit

Revolutionary Spirit?

Nonconformity?

(Richard Branson - Virgin Atlantic)

Ability to produce change/Crusader?

Passion for Change?

(When babies are born, we now say: “Congratulations,

it's a Leader!”)

Drucker: "Leadership is something scientific but has artistic expression"

Theoretical Review: 1. Great Man theory

Dowd (1936):History and social institutions shaped by the leadership of great men and women (e.g., Moses, Mohammed, Jeanne d’Arc, Washington, Gandhi, Churchill, etc.). Dowd (1936) maintained that “there is no such thing as leadership by the masses. The individuals in every society possess different degrees of intelligence, energy and moral force, and in whatever direction the masses may be influenced to go, they are always led by the superior few.”

GREAT MAN THEORY Late 19 th. & 20 th. Century Leader is born with innate,

unexplainable and, for mere mortals incomprehensible leadership qualities

Elevated as heroes

Theoretical Review: 2. Trait theory

L.L.Bernard (1926); Bingham (1927); Kilbourne (1935); Kirkpatrick & Locke (1991); Kohs & Irle (1920); Page (1935); Tead (1929):

• The leader is endowed with superior traits and characteristics that differentiate him from his followers. Research of trait theories addressed the following two questions: What traits distinguish leaders from other people? What is the extent of those differences?

Similar in some ways to “Great Man” theories, trait theory assumes that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership. Trait theories often identify particular personality or behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. But if particular traits are key features of leadership, how do we explain people who possess those qualities but are not leaders? This question is one of the difficulties in using trait theories to explain leadership.

TRAIT THEORIES Based on great men you can examine

their personalities and behaviour to develop traits of leaders

Plausible BUT flawed Little correlation – in attempting to

identify and model behaviours

BEHAVIOURIST THEORY Emphasizes what leaders do rather than

their characteristics So we look at what they do and how

they behave Advocates- Blake and Mouton (creators

of the Management Grid) and Rennis Likert

Humanistic Theories

Humanistic theories deal with the development of the individual in effective and cohesive organizations. Those holding this theoretical perspective assume that human beings are by nature motivated beings, and that organizations are by nature structured and controlled. According to them, leadership is to modify organizational constraints to provide freedom for individuals in order to realize their full potential and contribute to the organization. Argyris (1957, 1962, 1694); Blake & Mouton (1964, 1965); Hersey & Blanchard (1969, 1972); Likert (1961, 1967); Maslow (1965); McGregor (1960, 1966)

For Kurt Lewin behaviourwas determined by totality of an

individuals situation. In his field theory, a field is defined as the totality of coexisting facts which are conceived of as mutually interdependent (Lewin 1951: 240).

Individuals were seen to behave differently according to the way in which tensions between perceptions of the self and of the environment were worked through. The whole psychological field, or lifespace, within which people acted had to be viewed, in order to understand behaviour. Within this individuals and groups could be seen in topological terms (using map-like representations).

Chris Argyris The ladder of inference

is a powerful tool for helping people to recognise their tendency to make claims about the world that they assume to be true, and, therefore, expect others to accept without question...The pool of information at the bottom of the ladder represents all the information that could be relevant to this situation…

The first rung of the ladder represents the way we select from this pool. This is not a bad thing – it is simply impossible to notice everything. What is important is to recognise that you have been selective and that other people will take different information from the pool...The second rung represents the process of describing what is happening…The third and fourth rungs represent the way people interpret and evaluate what they have noticed and described...the context of the conversation and people’s prior assumptions are powerful influences on how people interpret and evaluate what they notice…The fifth rung represents how people seek consistency between individual interpretations and experiences by weaving them together into a coherent theory of action… The sixth rung shows how theories provide conclusions about the situation and what to do about it…

Alvin Toffler The Third Wave: The industrial society

brought huge companies and military organizations that needed to track what they had, what they were doing, and what they were spending. Information became abundant.

Rensis Likert

The Linking Pin Model is an idea developed by Rensis Likert in which an organization is represented as a number of overlapping work units in which members of one unit are leaders of another. In this scheme, the supervisor/manager has the dual task of maintaining unity and creating a sense of belonging within the group he or she supervises and of representing that group in meetings with superior and parallel management staff. These individuals are the linking pins within the organization and so they become the focus of leadership development activities.

The managerial grid model (1964) is a behavioral leadership model developed by Robert R. Blake and Jane Mouton. This model originally identified five different leadership styles based on the concern for people and the concern for production. The optimal leadership style in this model is based on Theory Y.

The model is represented as a grid with concern for production as the [x-axis]] and concern for people as the Y-axis; each axis ranges from 1 (Low) to 9 (High).

The indifferent (previously called impoverished) style (1,1) : evade and elude.

The accommodating (previously, country club) style (1,9): yield and comply.

The dictatorial (previously, produce or perish) style (9,1): control and dominate.

The status quo (previously, middle-of-the-road) style (5,5): balance and compromise.

The sound (previously, team style) (9,9): contribute and commit.

The opportunistic style: exploit and manipulate.

The paternalistic style: prescribe and guide.

Behavioral ElementsGrid theory breaks behavior down into seven key elements:Element Description

Initiative =Taking action, driving and supporting Inquiry =Questioning, researching and verifying

understanding Advocacy =Expressing convictions and championing

ideas Decision Making =Evaluating resources, choices and

consequences Conflict Resolution= Confronting and resolving

disagreements Resilience =Dealing with problems, setbacks and failures Critique =Delivering objective, candid feedback

Individual Character Theory

Napoleon complex is an informal term describing an alleged type of inferiority complex which is said to affect some people, especially men, who are short in stature. The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by a perceived handicap to overcompensate in other aspects of their lives.

Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational variable. Different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making.

Situational Theories

Bogardus (1918); Hersey & Blanchard (1972); Hocking (1924); Person (1928); H. Spencer

Leadership is the product of situational demands: Situational factors determine who will emerge as a leader rather than a person’s heritage. The emergence of a great leader is the result of time, place and circumstance.

The Situational Leadership method from Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey holds that managers must use different leadership styles depending on the situation. The model allows you to analyze the needs of the situation you’re in, and then use the most appropriate leadership style. Depending on employees’ competences in their task areas and commitment to their tasks, your leadership style should vary from one person to another. You may even lead the same person one way sometimes, and another way at other times

Leadership Behavior of the Leader ■S1 – Telling / Directing – High task focus, low

relationship focus – leaders define the roles and tasks of the ‘follower’, and supervise them closely. Decisions are made by the leader and announced, so communication is largely one-way. For people who lack competence but are enthusiastic and committed. They need direction and supervision to get them started.

■S2 – Selling / Coaching – High task focus, high relationship focus – leaders still define roles and tasks, but seeks ideas and suggestions from the follower. Decisions remain the leader’s prerogative, but communication is much more two-way. For people who have some competence but lack commitment. They need direction and supervision because they are still relatively inexperienced. They also need support and praise to build their self-esteem, and involvement in decision-making to restore their commitment.

■S3 – Participating / Supporting – Low task focus, high relationship focus – leaders pass day-to-day decisions, such as task allocation and processes, to the follower. The leader facilitates and takes part in decisions, but control is with the follower. For people who have competence, but lack confidence or motivation. They do not need much direction because of their skills, but support is necessary to bolster their confidence and motivation.

■S4 – Delegating – Low task focus, low relationship focus – leaders are still involved in decisions and problem-solving, but control is with the follower. The follower decides when and how the leader will be involved. For people who have both competence and commitment. They are able and willing to work on a project by themselves with little supervision or support.

Fred Fiedler’s situational contingency theory holds that group effectiveness depends on an appropriate match between a leader’s style (essentially a trait measure) and the demands of the situation. Fiedler considers situational control the extent to which a leader can determine what his or her group is going to do to be the primary contingency factor in determining the effectiveness of leader behavior.

The Vroom-Yetton contingency model is a situational leadership theory of industrial and organizational psychology developed by Victor Vroom, in collaboration with Phillip Yetton (1973) and later with Arthur Jago (1988). The situational theory argues the best style of leadership is contingent to the situation. This model suggests the selection of a leadership style for group decision making.

Emotional Intelligence Theory

the EQ principles provide a new way to understand and assess people's behaviours, management styles, attitudes, interpersonal skills, and potential. Emotional Intelligence is an important consideration in human resources planning, job profiling, recruitment interviewing and selection, management development, customer relations and customer service, and more.

The EQ concept argues that IQ, or conventional intelligence, is too narrow; that there are wider areas of Emotional Intelligence that dictate and enable how successful we are. Success requires more than IQ (Intelligence Quotient), which has tended to be the traditional measure of intelligence, ignoring eseential behavioural and character elements. We've all met people who are academically brilliant and yet are socially and inter-personally inept. And we know that despite possessing a high IQ rating, success does not automatically follow.

Howard Gardner He proposed eight multiple intelligences for

children and adults. All adults and children have the potential to strengthen all intelligences but each of us has dominant intelligences that we excel in. Many schools main focus is on linguistic and logical intelligences. We are slowly incorporating more of the intelligences and placing more value on all of the intelligences. Each student is unique and not all will excel in linguistic and logical but with a school system that values all intelligences we will nurture all students’ gifts.

Multiple Intelligences:Howard Gardner

•Linguistic - words and language •Logical-Mathematical - logic and

numbers •Musical - music, rhythm and sound •Bodily-Kinaesthetic - body movement

and control •Spatial-Visual - images and space •Interpersonal - other people's feelings •Intrapersonal - self awareness

Management theories (also known as “Transactional theories”) focus on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance. These theories base leadership on a system of reward and punishment. Managerial theories are often used in business; when employees are successful, they are rewarded; when they fail, they are reprimanded or punished.

Transactional Leadership

• Emphasizes getting things done within the umbrella of the status quo

• In opposition to transformational leadership

• “By the book" approach - the person works within the rules

Commonly seen in large, bureaucratic organizations

Relationship theories (also known as “Transformational theories”) focus upon the connections formed between leaders and followers. These leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group members see the importance and higher good of the task. Transformational leaders are focused on the performance of group members, but also want each person to fulfill his or her potential. These leaders often have high ethical and moral standards.

The TransformationalLeadership • Make change happen

in: • Self, • Others, • Groups, and • Organizations • Charisma a special

leadership style commonly associated with transformational leadership; extremely powerful, extremely hard to teach

Servant Leadership

A practical philosophy focusing on people who choose to serve first and then lead as a way of expanding service

Servant leaders are "servants first" with the object of making sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served

Leaders put the needs of their followers first; these leaders rare in business

Quantum or Chaos Theory systems sometimes reside in chaos,

generating energy but without any predictability or direction.

Applying chaos theory to organizational behavior allows theorists to take a step back from the management of day-to-day activities and see how organizations function as unified systems. An organization is a classic example of a nonlinear system (i.e., a system in which minor events have the potential to set off grave consequences or chain reactions, and major changes may have little or no effect on the system whatsoever).