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Approaches to the study of Leadership (Successful leadership is the key to…
Approaches to the study of Leadership
Intro:
Many definitions - Definition - “the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organisational objectives through change”
not necessarily what people in formal management positions do
Successful leadership is
defined in terms of performance and follower satisfaction.
Other predictors for leadership success
Charismatic leaders - very skilled communicators, able to articulate a compelling or captivating vision, and are able to arouse strong emotions in followers.
Transformational leadership
- theory of leadership where a leader works with teams to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executing the change in tandem with committed follower.
Emotional Inelegance
- ability to accurately perceive your own and others’ emotions; to understand the signals about relationships; and to manage your own and others’ emotions.”
Traits approach
Inelegance, Self esteem etc.
Little connection is made with the variety of organizational circumstances
leaders are born,
not made; leadership consists of certain inherited personality traits or qualities and that leadership emerges from these traits.
Little consideration for women in leadership positions
Leaders traits was believed to gain a person a leadership position, but
didn't necessarily mean they would be a successful leader
There are no universal traits people still explicitly or implicitly adopt a trait orientation e.g.g politicians
Successful leadership is the key to employee performance and in turn Successful Org. Performance
leader’s decisions on the people it attracts, hires and lets go from the organisation creates organizational climates in which people share
similar beliefs and attitudes
.
leader’s behaviours contribute to the formation of the
*organizational culture and climate
senior leaders shape the shared beliefs that make up an organisational culture, through what they pay attention to, encourage and reward
leaders, often unintentionally, attract, select, and retain followers who are similar to them, which can narrow the organisations pool of skills, stifling creativity and innovation
influence the
organization's strategy and policies
through the vision they provide and the human resource practices they champion
impact of leaders stronger in small organisation, leaders might enjoy high levels of autonomy /have a strategic role in shaping the organization's vision
leaders establish a
shared vision
and a
collective identity
- result in
strong follower commitment
to the leader which can lead to greater
internal cohesion
, value congruence, and
performance
potential
leaders influence
employee’ motivation
by making them more aware of their duties and
develop their interest in the organization’s performance
influence the
acquisition and deployment of organizational resources
, thus leading to the
delivery of value
to organizational stakeholders, creating and
sustaining competitive advantage
Behavioural Approach
Research into
what leaders actually do
rather than what they are. Holds good leadership traits don't come from birth. the
behaviors for successful leadership can be learned.
Adair - 3 main managerial activities
(Building the team / Developing the Individual / Focusing on the achieving of the task)
Blake Mouton Managerial Grid - 2 behavioral dimensions
(Concern for People / Concern for results)
Holds that char. less significant, rather the ability to learn how to act and balance the 3 key areas of activity.
Hols that on the grid 9,9 is the goal for successful leadership, need high regard for both dimensions
All fail to recognise sufficiently traits and context
Situational / Contingency Approach
Quality of leadership experience depends on several situational factors, including followers and task type
Criticism - didn't allow for flexibility in leaders, believed leader style was fixed.
Situation itself determines the leadership style that will be most effective and no single style of leadership is appropriate for all situations.
Fiedler
- early effort to combine leadership style and organizational situation into a comprehensive theory of leadership
House, Path-Goal Model
- Leader assists followers in attaining goals
Well rounded approach, takes into account that influence of situation, the work, followers and leader behavior. Assumes that leaders are flexible and can adapt their leadership style to the situation
Is successful leadership that important to org. success?
proposed, that situational variables may substitute for, neutralise, or enhance the effects of a leader's behaviour.
‘Substitutes’
reduced leaders' ability and or replace the leader’s influence.
‘Neutralisers’
on the other hand, makes it impossible for a leader to make a difference but doesn’t increase performance
Alternatives approaches to leadership
are suggested, more suitable for the dynamic and complex situations -
Shared leadership
(dynamic, interactive influence process among individuals, lead one another to the achievement of group or organizational goals or both”
moved away from this ‘
Great Man
’ type discussion around perfect traits of behaviors etc. argued that there are other ways
changes the focus from a vertical leadership
approach where one leader influences several followers
to a horizontal approach
where
leadership becomes a joint activity
of the team members showing leadership behaviour toward each other