Industrial Psychology“Leadership”

Hardianto Iridiastadi, Ph.D.

Introduction

What constitute a good leader?

How, if any, can we use these toachieve organizational goals?

Introduction

• Bill Clinton

– Is he a good leader?

• Scandals and rumors

• Impeached and sued for sexual harassment

• Attacked by his opponents – morally unfit.

• Yet, 2/3 approved his performance– Strong economy

– Balanced federal budget

– Declined crime

– Reformed wellfare

Good leadership:Character? Or ability to perform?

A good leaderin all situations?

Some Backgrounds

• Leadership

– Substantially contribute to a success/failure

– Still remains a “black box”

• Definition

– Ability to influence others in achievingorganizational objectives

– Involves influencing attitudes, beliefs,behaviors, and feelings of other people

• Managerial (formal) vs. group/social (informal)

Some Backgrounds

• Leaders vs. managers

– Administer vs. innovate

– Maintain vs. develop

– Control vs. trust

– Bottom line vs. horizon

– Status quo vs. challenge status quo

– Does things right vs. does right things

Sources of Power

• Expert

– Based on knowledge and expertise

– Perceived by others

• Referent

– Like and identify with supervisor

– Develop through personal relationships

• Legitimate power

– Inherent in the supervisor’s job title

Sources of Power

• Reward

– Ability to reward subordinates

– Bonus, assignments, promotions, raises, etc.

• Coercive

– Ability to punish subordinates

– Disciplinary actions, fines, firing, salary cut, etc.

These two sources seldom found in government organizations

Maintaining Power

• Political power

– How people gain and protect power in anorganization

– Achieved through three means

• Gaining control of decision process

• Forming coalitions

• Co-optation the opposition(see Fig. 31-1, Spector)

Questions

• Discuss how each source can have positiveand/or negative impacts.

Approaches

• Trait– Who will make a good leader?

• Behavior– What do good leaders do?

• Contingency– In a given condition, who will be a good leader

and what behavior is likely to be effective?

• Leader-member exchange– Interaction between supervisor and subordinates

Early Theory

• Trait theory– Identify personality traits of good leaders

– Inborn and (later) acquired through learningand experience

– Inconsistencies across studies

– Cognitive ability predict managerialperformance

– Emergent leader• Not necessarily an effective leader

• Big Five seems to predict emergent leaders

Behavioral Theories

• Concerns with what leaders do

– Leadership style

• Cluster of related behavior representing an approachto subordinates (e.g., autocratic vs. participative)

• Iowa leadership studies

– Group preference on certain leadership style(autocratic, democratic, laissez faire)

Behavioral Theories

• Ohio state leadership studies

– Importance of both task (initiating structure)and human dimensions (consideration)

– LBDQ

• Scores correlated with subordinate’s performance

• Findings could be biased

• Potential reciprocal relationship between supervisorand subordinate behavior

– Dependence on situations?

Behavioral Theories

• Michigan leadership studies

– Comparing pairs (w/ high and low productivity)

– Productivity seems to be related to leadershipstyles

– No direct link between productivity andsatisfaction

Behavioral Theories

• Managerial grid styles (Blake & Mouton)

Behavioral Theories

• Scandinavian studies

– Innovation-oriented

• Summary

– Identify relationships between leadershipstyle/behavior and group performance

– Lack situational factors affecting leadershipeffectiveness

Contingency Framework

• Fiedler’s contingency model

– Leadership effectiveness vs. situationalfavorableness

– Leader assessed by Least Preferred Coworker

• High LPC – concerns with relationship

• Low LPC – concerns with getting jobs done

– Situation assessed by• Leader-member relationship

• Degree of task structure (clear and specific task)

• Leader’s position power (ability to reward or punish)

Contingency Framework

• Fiedler’s contingency model

– High control requires high degree of taskdimensions (and vice versa)

Contingency Framework

Situational approach (Hersey and Blanchard)

Contingency Framework

• Leader-Member Exchange (LMX)

– Development of special relationships betweenleaders and certain group members (in-group vs.out-group)

– Differences, in various aspects, when comparingthese two groups

Contingency Framework

• Path-Goal leadership theory

– Directive, supportive, participative,achievement-oriented leadership

– Different style in different situations

Contingency Framework

• Vroom-Yetton leader-participation model

– Acceptance to a decision improves commitmentand performance

• A1 and A2: Autocratic

• C1 and C2: Consultative

• G2: Group based

Organizational Implications

• Leadership is critical to organizationalperformance

• Several basic traits exist

• Leader effectiveness also depends onfollowers (and vice versa)

– Task and human relation

• There are other situational factors affectingleadership effectiveness