Theoretical Perspectives on Leadership Situational Leadership Theory LeaderMember

Theoretical Perspectives on Leadership: Situational Leadership Theory Leader-Member Exchange Theory

Outline • Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) • Leader Member Exchange Theory (LMX) • Perspective-Taking Exercise

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory s: s ne i ad e r r e w lo l Fo d n a y t li i ab ss e n g n lli i w Leader: decreasing need for support and supervision

Situational Leadership Theory • Emphasizes the situational contingency of maturity, or “readiness, ” of followers. • Readiness is the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.

Situational Leadership Theory • Appropriate leadership style is contingent on the followers’ readiness – Readiness - extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task • Based on two leadership dimensions – Task (or directive) behaviors – Relationship (or supportive) behaviors

Situational Leadership Theory • Posits four stages follower readiness: – R 1: Low readiness • followers are unable and unwilling – R 2: Low to moderate readiness • followers are unable but willing – R 3: Moderate to high readiness • followers are able but unwilling – R 4: High readiness • followers are able and willing

ipa Del ega ling Tel ting Pa ng lli rtic Se tin g The Four Leadership Styles

Situational Leadership Theory • Four specific leadership styles (incorporating directive & supportive leadership dimensions): – Telling: high task-low relationship leadership – Selling: high task-high relationship leadership – Participating: low task-high relationship leadership – Delegating: low task-low relationship leadership

Matching Leadership style with Development Level • Leader style and follower readiness. – A telling style is best for low readiness. – A selling style is best for low to moderate readiness. – A participating style is best for moderate to high readiness. – A delegating style is best for high readiness.

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory Leader Behavior Relationship Behavior (supportive behavior) High Low High R 4 Participating S 3 Share ideas and facilitate in decision making Selling S 2 Explain decisions and provide opportunity for clarification Delegating S 4 Turn over responsibility for decisions and implementation Telling S 1 Provide specific instructions and closely supervise performance Task Behavior High Follower Readiness Moderate R 3 R 2 Follower-Directed Low R 1 Leader-Directed

The Leader-Member Exchange Approach • Stresses the importance of variable relationships between leaders and each of their followers.

The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX Model) • This model is based on the idea that one of two distinct types of leader-member exchange relationships evolve, and these exchanges are related to important work outcomes. • - in-group exchange: a partnership characterized by mutual trust, respect and liking • - out-group exchange: a partnership characterized by a lack of mutual trust, respect and liking

The Leader-Member Exchange LMX Model Leader F 5 F 1 F 4 Out-group • viewed as incompetent, untrustworthy, and poorly motivated F 3 F 2 In-group • viewed as competent, trustworthy, and highly motivated

LMX Model • Stages of Relationship Development – Phase 1: Testing and assessment – Phase 2: Development of trust – Phase 3: Creation of emotional bond

Factors Influencing the Relationship • Member attributes influence relationship • extroversion • abilities • ingratiation behaviors • Affective responses influence the relationship – perceived similarity • attraction – leads to increased interaction • trust

Outcomes of LMX • High‑LMX relationship groups tends to outperform low‑LMX relationship groups • Outcomes: – Productivity – Job satisfaction – Organizational commitment – Employee resignation – Salary and promotion

Gender and LMX • Gender differences influence interactions • Mixed gender relationships – supervisors rate performance lower – supervisors report liking subordinate less – subordinates experience greater role ambiguity

Perspective-Taking • Ability to “read” leader or member important in LMX • Use role-taking skills to entertain the point of view of another • Associated with – – – +patience +reasonableness +sensitivity -aggressiveness -sarcasm

Perspective-Taking Exercise • Instructions. This task will be similar to a game of Pictionary. You have each been given a card with a word on it. First, one of you will draw in order to get your partner to say the word on your card. Then, your partner will draw for you. It makes no difference who goes first and who goes second. You are to draw anything you wish to draw in order to get your partner to say the word on your card.

Exercise Rules 1) While drawing, you may not speak to your partner or use hand gestures to communicate with your partner. 2) You may not use numbers, letters, or the number sign (#) in your drawings. 3) You may not write any part of the word, even if your partner has said a part of the word. 4) Your partner must say the word EXACTLY as it appears on the card. 5) You will have 3 minutes in which to draw and for your partner to guess. Good Luck!!

Perspective-Taking Questions • When you were drawing, did you draw toward yourself or toward your partner? • How do you think your score on the perspectivetaking questionnaire might relate to your performance on this task? • How do you think one’s tendency or ability to take the perspective (i. e. , point of view) of another might influence the ways in which leaders and subordinates interact?