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Leadership Theories
GREAT MAN THEORY
Assumptions
Leaders are born and not made.
Great leaders will arise when there is a great need.
Description
Early research on leadership was based on the study of people who were
already great leaders. These people were often from the aristocracy, as few
from lower classes had the opportunity to lead. This contributed to the
notion that leadership had something to do with breeding.
The idea of the Great Man also strayed into the mythic domain, with notions
that in times of need, a Great Man would arise, almost by magic. This was
easy to verify, by pointing to people such as Eisenhower and Churchill, let
alone those further back along the timeline, even to Jesus, Moses,
Mohammed and the Buddah.
Discussion
Gender issues were not on the table when the 'Great Man' theory was
proposed. Most leaders were male and the thought of a Great Woman was
generally in areas other than leadership. Most researchers were also male,
and concerns about androcentric bias were a long way from being realized.
TRAIT THEORY
Assumptions
People are born with inherited traits.
Some traits are particularly suited to leadership.
People who make good leaders have the right (or sufficient) combination of
traits.
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Description
Early research on leadership was based on the psychological focus of the
day, which was of people having inherited characteristics or traits. Attention
was thus put on discovering these traits, often by studying successful
leaders, but with the underlying assumption that if other people could also be
found with these traits, then they, too, could also become great leaders.
Stogdill (1974) identified the following traits and skills as critical to leaders.
Traits:
* Adaptable to situations
* Alert to social environment
* Ambitious and achievementorientated
* Assertive
* Cooperative
* Decisive
* Dependable
* Dominant (desire to
influence others)
* Energetic (high activity
level)
* Persistent
* Self-confident
* Tolerant of stress
* Willing to assume
responsibility
Skills:
* Clever (intelligent)
* Conceptually skilled
* Creative
* Diplomatic and tactful
* Fluent in speaking
* Knowledgeable about group
task
* Organized (administrative
ability)
* Persuasive
* Socially skilled
McCall and Lombardo (1983) researched both success and failure
identified four primary traits by which leaders could succeed or 'derail':
Emotional stability and composure: Calm, confident and predictable,
particularly when under stress.
Admitting error: Owning up to mistakes, rather than putting energy into
covering up.
Good interpersonal skills: able to communicate and persuade others without
resort to negative or coercive tactics.
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Intellectual breadth: Able to understand a wide range of areas, rather than
having a narrow (and narrow-minded) area of expertise.
Discussion
There have been many different studies of leadership traits and they agree
only in the general saintly qualities needed to be a leader.
For a long period, inherited traits were sidelined as learned and situational
factors were considered to be far more realistic as reasons for people
acquiring leadership positions.
Paradoxically, the research into twins who were separated at birth along with
new sciences such as Behavioral Genetics have shown that far more is
inherited than was previously supposed. Perhaps one day they will find a
'leadership gene'.
BEHAVIORAL THEORY
Assumptions
Leaders can be made, rather than are born.
Successful leadership is based in definable, learnable behavior.
Description
Behavioral theories of leadership do not seek inborn traits or capabilities.
Rather, they look at what leaders actually do.
If success can be defined in terms of describable actions, then it should be
relatively easy for other people to act in the same way. This is easier to teach
and learn then to adopt the more ephemeral 'traits' or 'capabilities'.
Discussion
Behavioral is a big leap from Trait Theory, in that it assumes that leadership
capability can be learned, rather than being inherent. This opens the
floodgates to leadership development, as opposed to simple psychometric
assessment that sorts those with leadership potential from those who will
never have the chance.
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A behavioral theory is relatively easy to develop, as you simply assess both
leadership success and the actions of leaders. With a large enough study, you
can then correlate statistically significant behaviors with success. You can
also identify behaviors which contribute to failure, thus adding a second
layer of understanding.
PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP
Assumptions
Involvement in decision-making improves the understanding of the issues
involved by those who must carry out the decisions.
People are more committed to actions where they have involved in the
relevant decision-making.
People are less competitive and more collaborative when they are working
on joint goals.
When people make decisions together, the social commitment to one another
is greater and thus increases their commitment to the decision.
Several people deciding together make better decisions than one person
alone.
Style
A Participative Leader, rather than taking autocratic decisions, seeks to
involve other people in the process, possibly including subordinates, peers,
superiors and other stakeholders. Often, however, as it is within the
managers' whim to give or deny control to his or her subordinates, most
participative activity is within the immediate team. The question of how
much influence others are given thus may vary on the manager's preferences
and beliefs, and a whole spectrum of participation is possible
Discussion
Participative Leadership can be a sham when managers ask for opinions and
then ignore them. This is likely to lead to cynicism and feelings of betrayal.
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
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Assumptions
The best action of the leader depends on a range of situational factors.
Style
When a decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single
preferred style, such as using transactional or transformational methods. In
practice, as they say, things are not that simple.
Factors that affect situational decisions include motivation and capability of
followers. This, in turn, is affected by factors within the particular situation.
The relationship between followers and the leader may be another factor that
affects leader behavior as much as it does follower behavior.
The leaders' perception of the follower and the situation will affect what they
do rather than the truth of the situation. The leader's perception of
themselves and other factors such as stress and mood will also modify the
leaders' behavior.
Yukl (1989) seeks to combine other approaches and identifies six variables:
* Subordinate effort: the motivation and actual effort expended.
* Subordinate ability and role clarity: followers knowing what to do and
how to do it.
* Organization of the work: the structure of the work and utilization of
resources.
* Cooperation and cohesiveness: of the group in working together.
* Resources and support: the availability of tools, materials, people, etc.
* External coordination: the need to collaborate with other groups.
Leaders here work on such factors as external relationships, acquisition of
resources, managing demands on the group and managing the structures and
culture of the group.
Discussion
Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) identified three forces that led to the
leader's action: the forces in the situation, the forces in then follower and
also forces in the leader. This recognizes that the leader's style is highly
variable, and even such distant events as a family argument can lead to the
displacement activity of a more aggressive stance in an argument than usual.
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Maier (1963) noted that leaders not only consider the likelihood of a
follower accepting a suggestion, but also the overall importance of getting
things done. Thus in critical situations, a leader is more likely to be directive
in style simply because of the implications of failure.
CONTINGENCY THEORY
Assumptions
The leader's ability to lead is contingent upon various situational factors,
including the leader's preferred style, the capabilities and behaviors of
followers and also various other situational factors.
Description
Contingency theories are a class of behavioral theory that contend that there
is no one best way of leading and that a leadership style that is effective in
some situations may not be successful in others.
An effect of this is that leaders who are very effective at one place and time
may become unsuccessful either when transplanted to another situation or
when the factors around them change.
This helps to explain how some leaders who seem for a while to have the
'Midas touch' suddenly appear to go off the boil and make very unsuccessful
decisions.
Discussion
Contingency theory is similar to situational theory in that there is an
assumption of no simple one right way. The main difference is that
situational theory tends to focus more on the behaviors that the leader should
adopt, given situational factors (often about follower behavior), whereas
contingency theory takes a broader view that includes contingent factors
about leader capability and other variables within the situation.
TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
Assumptions
People are motivated by reward and punishment.
Social systems work best with a clear chain of command.
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When people have agreed to do a job, a part of the deal is that they cede all
authority to their manager.
The prime purpose of a subordinate is to do what their manager tells them to
do.
Style
The transactional leader works through creating clear structures whereby it
is clear what is required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they get
for following orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are
also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place.
The early stage of Transactional Leadership is in negotiating the contract
whereby the subordinate is given a salary and other benefits, and the
company (and by implication the subordinate's manager) gets authority over
the subordinate.
When the Transactional Leader allocates work to a subordinate, they are
considered to be fully responsible for it, whether or not they have the
resources or capability to carry it out. When things go wrong, then the
subordinate is considered to be personally at fault, and is punished for their
failure (just as they are rewarded for succeeding).
The transactional leader often uses management by exception, working on
the principle that if something is operating to defined (and hence expected)
performance then it does not need attention. Exceptions to expectation
require praise and reward for exceeding expectation, whilst some kind of
corrective action is applied for performance below expectation.
Whereas Transformational Leadership has more of a 'selling' style,
Transactional Leadership, once the contract is in place, takes a 'telling' style.
Discussion
Transactional leadership is based in contingency, in that reward or
punishment is contingent upon performance.
Despite much research that highlights its limitations, Transactional
Leadership is still a popular approach with many managers. Indeed, in the
Leadership vs. Management spectrum, it is very much towards the
management end of the scale.
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The main limitation is the assumption of 'rational man', a person who is
largely motivated by money and simple reward, and hence whose behavior
is predictable. The underlying psychology is Behaviorism, including the
Classical Conditioning of Pavlov and Skinner's Operant Conditioning. These
theories are largely based on controlled laboratory experiments (often with
animals) and ignore complex emotional factors and social values.
In practice, there is sufficient truth in Behaviorism to sustain Transactional
approaches. This is reinforced by the supply-and-demand situation of much
employment, coupled with the effects of deeper needs, as in Maslow's
Hierarchy. When the demand for a skill outstrips the supply, then
Transactional Leadership often is insufficient, and other approaches are
more effective.
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Assumptions
People will follow a person who inspires them.
A person with vision and passion can achieve great things.
The way to get things done is by injecting enthusiasm and energy.
Style
Working for a Transformational Leader can be a wonderful and uplifting
experience. They put passion and energy into everything. They care about
you and want you to succeed.
Developing the vision
Transformational Leadership starts with the development of a vision, a view
of the future that will excite and convert potential followers. This vision may
be developed by the leader, by the senior team or may emerge from a broad
series of discussions. The important factor is the leader buys into it, hook,
line and sinker.
Selling the vision
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The next step, which in fact never stops, is to constantly sell the vision. This
takes energy and commitment, as few people will immediately buy into a
radical vision, and some will join the show much more slowly than others.
The Transformational Leader thus takes every opportunity and will use
whatever works to convince others to climb on board the bandwagon.
In order to create followers, the Transformational Leader has to be very
careful in creating trust, and their personal integrity is a critical part of the
package that they are selling. In effect, they are selling themselves as well as
the vision.
Finding the way forwards
In parallel with the selling activity is seeking the way forward. Some
Transformational Leaders know the way, and simply want others to follow
them. Others do not have a ready strategy, but will happily lead the
exploration of possible routes to the “promise land”.
The route forwards may not be obvious and may not be plotted in details, but
with a clear vision, the direction will always be known. Thus finding the
way forward can be an ongoing process of course correction, and the
Transformational Leader will accept that there will be failures and blind
canyons along the way. As long as they feel progress is being made, they
will be happy.
Leading the charge
The final stage is to remain up-front and central during the action.
Transformational Leaders are always visible and will stand up to be counted
rather than hide behind their troops. They show by their attitudes and actions
how everyone else should behave. They also make continued efforts to
motivate and rally their followers, constantly doing the rounds, listening,
soothing and enthusing.
It is their unswerving commitment as much as anything else that keeps
people going, particularly through the darker times when some may question
whether the vision can ever be achieved. If the people do not believe that
they can succeed, then their efforts will flag. The Transformational Leader
seeks to infect and reinfect their followers with a high level of commitment
to the vision.
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One of the methods the Transformational Leader uses to sustain motivation
is in the use of ceremonies, rituals and other cultural symbolism. Small
changes get big hurrahs, pumping up their significance as indicators of real
progress.
Overall, they balance their attention between action that creates progress and
the mental state of their followers. Perhaps more than other approaches, they
are people-oriented and believe that success comes first and last through
deep and sustained commitment.
Discussion
Whilst the Transformational Leader seeks overtly to transform the
organization, there is also a tacit promise to followers that they also will be
transformed in some way, perhaps to be more like this amazing leader. In
some respects, then, the followers are the product of the transformation.
Transformational Leaders are often charismatic, but are not as narcissistic as
pure Charismatic Leaders, who succeed through a believe in themselves
rather than a believe in others.
One of the traps of Transformational Leadership is that passion and
confidence can easily be mistaken for truth and reality. Whilst it is true that
great things have been achieved through enthusiastic leadership, it is also
true that many passionate people have led the charge right over the cliff and
into a bottomless chasm. Just because someone believes they are right, it
does not mean they are right.
Paradoxically, the energy that gets people going can also cause them to give
up. Transformational Leaders often have large amounts of enthusiasm
which, if relentlessly applied, can wear out their followers.
Transformational Leaders also tend to see the big picture, but not the details,
where the devil often lurks. If they do not have people to take care of this
level of information, then they are usually doomed to fail.
Finally, Transformational Leaders, by definition, seek to transform. When
the organization does not need transforming and people are happy as they
are, then such a leader will be frustrated. Like wartime leaders, however,
given the right situation they come into their own and can be personally
responsible for saving entire companies.
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