Leadership Prepared for UHS 2062 at UTM Skudai

Leadership Prepared for UHS 2062 at UTM Skudai, Johore, MALAYSIA by Siti Rokiah Siwok. srsiwok@gmail. com

Leadership �Many theories are associated with leadership. �Many questions are being asked related to leadership, such as: �Leaders are born? �Are leaders “bred”/developed? �What makes a good organizational leader? �What about you?

Leader emergence �It is the idea that people who become leader have traits or characteristics different from people who do not become leaders.

Characteristics of Leaders �Leaders have special characteristics. �Recent reviews show that : �People high in openness, conscientiousness, extraversion and low in neuroticism are more likely to emerge as leaders (Judge, Bono, Ilies and Gerhardt, 2002) �High self monitors emerge as leaders more often then low self-monitors. �More intelligent �However, the Rx between traits and leader emergence is not strong.

Traits of leader emergence and the motivation to lead �There is lack of agreement on a list of traits consistently related to leader emergence. �This can be explained by the complexity of motivation to lead which has three aspects : �Affective identity motivation �Noncalculative motivation �Social-normative motivation

Leader Performance �Leader performance involves the idea that people who perform well have certain characteristics that poor performing leaders do not. �Rather then thinking that a leader “emerge”, we can look into the performance of the leaders. We see what are the characteristics of leaders who perform well vis-à-vis those not performing well. �Example: we say that a good leader is intelligent, assertive and friendly while a poor leader is not intelligent, nonassertive and shy.

Characteristics and leader performance �There is a relationship between personal characteristics and leader performance. � Three areas are given focus: �Traits �Needs �Orientation

Traits �Meta-analysis by Youngjohn (1999) found that individual-difference variables were good predictors of leadership performance: �Charismatic �Dominant �Energetic �High in self monitoring

Personal characteristics and leader performance: Traits �In another meta-analysis (Judge et al, 2002), these traits are found to be positively correlate to leader performance: �Extraversion �Openness �Agreeableness �Conscientiousness q Neuroticism negatively relates to leader performance.

Personal Characteristics and leader performance : Needs �Need for power �Need for achievement �Need for affiliation

Characteristics and leader performance : Needs �Research by Mc Clelland Burnham (1976) and Mc. Clelland Boyatzis (1982) demonstrates that high performance managers have a leadership motive pattern; high need for power and low need for affiliation. The need for power is NOT for personal power but for ORGANIZATIONAL POWER.

Personal characteristics and leader performance : Needs test �Needs for power, achievement and affiliation can be measured through various psychological tests; such as the Thematic Appreciation Test(TAT) or the Job Choice Exercise(JCE) or by examining their themes in their speeches and writings.

Personal characteristics and leader performance : orientation �Three major school of thoughts have postulated that differences in leader performance can be attributed to the extent to which leaders are TASK vs PERSON ORIENTED.

Consequences of leader orientation Person orientation High Low performance Low turnover Low grievance rate High performance Low turnover Low grievance rate Low performance High turnover High grievance rate High performance High turnover High grievance rate Low High Task orientation

Task oriented leaders �Task-oriented leaders see their employees as lazy , extrinsically motivated, undisciplined etc, so taskoriented leaders lead by giving directives, setting goals and making decision without consulting their subordinates. �Included in the task oriented leaders are : �Task-centered leaders �Theory X leaders �High initiating structure

Instruments �The orientation of a leader can be measured by several instruments such as: �Leadership Opinion Questionnaire ( LOQ 0 �Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire (LBDQ)

Unsuccessful or poor leaders �According to Hogan (1989): �Lack of leadership training � Trained after being hired �Cognitive deficiencies � Unable to learn from experience � Do not able to think strategically �Personality � Insecure. . and adopting one of these : Paranoid, Passive –aggressive, narcissist, high-likeability floater

Interaction between leader and situation �Leader’s effectiveness not only depends on traits that s/he posses but also on the particular situation in which the leader is in. �Several theories ( or models) have emerged to explain the situational nature of leadership.

Leader and situation: Contingency Model �Fiedler’s contingency model holds that any leader is effective only in certain situations. �Thus Fiedler argue that rather than change the leadership style , leadership training should concentrate on helping people understand their leadership style and manipulate the environment to make a perfect match. �Fiedler developed Least Preferred coworker scale ( LPC) �Fiedler’s ideas supported by researches �Fiedler’s training : Leader match

Leader and situation: IMPACT �IMPACT theory, developed by Geier, Downey and Johnson (1980). �Leaders have 6 behaviour styles : informational, magnetic, position, affiliation, coercive and tactical. �Each style is effective with only one particular situation or organizational climate.

IMPACT THEORY �Informational style in climate of ignorance �Magnetic style in a climate of despair �Position style in a climate of instability �Affiliation style in a climate of anxiety �Coercive style in a climate of crisis �Tactical style in a climate of disorganization

IMPACT THEORY: STRATEGIES �Find a climate consistent with your leadership style �Change your leadership style to better fit the climate �Change your followers perception of the climate �Change the actual climate

Leader and situation: Path-goal Theory �Leaders who can adapt their behaviour to match the needs of their subordinates will be more effective than leaders who stick to one leadership style ( Foster, 1999, in Aamodt, 2010) �According to the path-goal theory ( House, 1971, in Aamodt, 2010), a leader can adopt one of the leadership styles to manage different situations: �Instrumental �Supportive �Participative �Achievement -oriented

Leader and situation: Path-goal Theory �Each style will work in certain situations and also depends on the subordinates’ abilities and the extent the task is structured. �The higher the level of subordinates’ abilities, the less directive the leader should be. �On the contrary, the less structured the situation , the more directive will the leader be ( Schriesheim and De. Nisi, 1981)

Leader and situation: Path-goal Theory �In addition, according to this theory, a leader should: �Recognize the needs of subordinates and work to satisfy those needs. �Reward subordinates who reach their goals. �Help subordinates identify the best paths to take in reaching particular goals. �Clear those paths so that employees can reach their goals. As path-goal theory is behaviour based, theory could be used in training.

Leader and situation: Situational leadership theory �Developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1988), a leader uses four leadership styles : �Delegating �Directing �Supporting �Coaching

Leader and situation: LMX (VDL) �LMX is another leadership theory and was originally called vertical dyad linkage ( VDL) theory. �The uniqueness of this theory is the focus on interaction between , leaders and subordinates. �These interactions are called leader-member exchanges ( LMX). �The idea originates from the relationship between two people( dyad) whereby the leader is in the position above the subordinate ( vertical) plus their interrelated behaviours ( linkage). Hence VDL.

Summary of leadership theories Theory Components Model type Great man-great women theory Effective leaders are born, Descriptive not made Trait theory Common traits to all effective leaders Descriptive Theory X , theory Y Two types of leaders: traditional and nontraditional Descriptive Fiedler’s Contingency theory Leader must be matched to situational characteristics Predictive Path –goal theory Leader must play roles to Descriptive-predictive help groups attain goals

Summary of leadership theories Theory Vroom –Yetton Decision Making Model Components Model type Leader asks situation-related questions before choosing decision-making style Prescriptive Leader-member exchange Focuses on quality of leadermember relationship Descriptivepredictive Transformational leadership Leaders inspire and provides “vision” for followers Descriptive Charismatic leadership Followers drawn to exceptional characteristics possessed by leader Descriptive

Means of being a leader

Means to be a leader �Leadership through decision making (Vroom-Yetton model). �Leadership through contact (management by walking around). �Leadership through power ( expert power, legitimate power, reward and coercive powers, referent power). �Leadership through vision (transformational leadership).

Two ways of describing leadership styles �Another way of looking at leadership styles is to categorise it into two broad categories, namely : �Transactional �Transformational Each style has its own dimensions.

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Main reference: Aamodt 2010