ledership report2

8/9/2019 ledership report2

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Subject: Human Behavior in Organization

Professor: Dr. Perla Estrella

Topic: Leadership (part 2/2)

Discussant: May Rose Abigail A. Lappay

Date: June 5, 2010

THE NATURE OF LEADERSHIP (contd)

CONTINGENCY APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP STYLE

Fiedlers Contingency Model

Leader-member relations- determined by the manner in which the leader is accepted by

the group

Task-structure- reflects the degree to which one specific way is required to do the job

Leader position power- describes the organizational power that goes with the position the

leader occupies e.g. power to hire and fire, status symbols, and power to give pay raises

and promotions

Fiedlers contingency model has played a major role in stimulating discussions on

leadership style and in generating useful guidelines. Managers are encouraged to:

Examine their situation- the people, task, and organization

Be flexible in the use of various skills within an overall style

Consider modifying elements of their jobs to obtain a better match with their

preferred style

Hersey and Blanchards Situational Leadership Model

Important factors affecting leadership style:Development level- task-specific

combination of an employees task competence and motivation to perform

(commitment). The model is simple and intuitively appealing and accents an important

contingency factor but it ignores other elements regarding leadership style.

Four Behavior Types

S1: Telling - is characterized by one-way communication in which the leader defines theroles of the individual or group and provides the what, how, when, and where to do the

task

S2: Selling - while the leader is still providing the direction, he is now using two-way

communication and providing the socioemotional support that will allow the individual

or group being influenced to buy into the process.


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S3: Participating - this is now shared decision making about aspects of how the task is

accomplished and the leader is providing less task behaviors while maintaining high

relationship behavior.

S4: Delegating - the leader is still involved in decisions; however, the process and

responsibility has been passed to the individual or group. The leader stays involved tomonitor progress.

Path-Goal Model of Leadership (House)

The Path-Goal Leadership Process

Leadership Styles

Directive Leadership- the leader focuses on clear task assignments, standards of

successful performance and work schedulesSupportive Leadership- the leader demonstrates concern for the employees well-being

and needs, while trying to create a pleasant work environment

Achievement-oriented Leadership- the leader sets high expectations for employees,communicates confidence in their ability to achieve challenging goals and

enthusiastically models the desired behavior

Participative Leadership- the leader invites employees to provide input to decisions, and

seriously seeks to use their suggestions as final decisions are made

Leader

identifies

employee

needs

Appropriate

goals are

established

Leader

connects

rewards with

goals

Leader provides

assistance on

employee path

toward goals

Employees

become satisfied

and motivated,

and they accept

the leader

Effective

performanceoccurs

Both employees

and organization

are better able to

reach their goals


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Contingency Factors- two factors must be analyzed; the general work environmentand thespecific characteristics of the employee

3 Significant Variables in Each Employee

Locus of control- alternative beliefs about whether an employees achievements are the product

of his or her own effort

Willingness to accept the influence of others- high=more successful directive approach, low=participative style is more appropriate

Self-perceived task ability- high confidence employees will react to a supportive leader;

employees who lack task ability perception will embrace achievement-oriented leader

Vrooms Decision-Making Model

Recognizes that problem-solving situations differ, so a structured approach for managers

to examine the nature of those differences and to respond appropriately was developed

Guiding Questions in the Vroom Decision-Making Model

1. How important is technical quality with regard to the decision being made?

2. How important is subordinate commitment to the decision (employee acceptance)?3. Do you have sufficient information to make a high-quality decision?

4. Is the problem well-structured?

5. If you made the decision, would the subordinates be likely to accept it?6. Do subordinates share the goals to be attained in solving the problem?

7. Is there likely to be conflict among subordinates over alternative solutions?

8. Do subordinates have sufficient information to allow them to reach a high-qualitysolution?

Problem Attributes

Decision-quality Dimensions- include cost considerations and the availability of

information and whether or not the problem is structured

Employee-acceptance Dimensions- include the need for their commitment, their priorapproval, the congruence of their goals with the organizations, and the likelihood of

conflict among employees

Leadership Options

Autocratic I- leader individually solves the problem using available informationAutocratic II- leader obtains data from subordinates and then decides

Consultative I- leader explains problem to individual subordinates and obtains ideas from

each before deciding

Consultative II- leader meets with group of subordinates to share the problem and obtaininputs, and then decides

Group II- leader shares problem with groups and facilitates a discussion of alternatives

and a reaching of group agreement on a solution


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Key Assumptions

1. Managers can accurately classify problems according to the criteria offered.2. Managers are able and willing to adapt their leadership style to fit the contingency

conditions they face for each major decision.

3. Managers are willing to use a rather complex model.4. Employees will accept the legitimacy of different styles being used for different

problems.

EMERGING APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP

Similarities across Relationship Models

Model Soft Emphasis Hard Emphasis

University of Michigan

and Ohio State

University studies

Blake and Moutonsmanagerial grid

Fiedlers contingency

modelHersey and Blanchards

situational model

Path-goal modelVrooms decision-

making model

Consideration

People

Employee orientation

Relationships

Psychological supportEmployee acceptance

Structure

Production

Task orientation

Task guidance

Task supportDecision quality

Substitutes and Enhancers for Leadership

There may be substitutes or enhancers for leadership if the situation or leader cannot be

readily as well as neutralizers that may intervene. Neutralizers include physical distance, rigid

reward systems and a practice of bypassing the managers by either subordinates or superiors.

Substitutes for Leadership- are factors that make leadership roles unnecessary through

replacing them with other sources.

Enhancers for Leadership- are elements that amplify a leaders impact on the

employees. A directive orientation may be improved by an increase in the leaders status or

reward power or when that leadership style is used in jobs with frequent crises.


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Potential Neutralizers, Substitutes, and Enhancers for Leadership

Neutralizers Substitutes Enhancers

Physical distancebetween leader and

employee

Employee indifferencetowards rewards

intrinsically satisfying

tasks

Inflexible work rulesRigid reward systems

Cohesive work groups

Employees with highability, experience, or

knowledge

Practice of bypassing themanager (by subordinates

or superiors)

Peer appraisal/feedbackGain-sharing reward

systems

Staff available forproblems

Jobs redesigned for more

feedback

Methods for resolvinginterpersonal conflict

Team building to help

solve work-relatedproblems

Intrinsic satisfaction from

the work itselfCohesive work groups

Employee needs for

independence

Super ordinate goalsIncreased group

status

Increased leaders statusand reward power

Leader as the central

source of information

supplyIncreased subordinates

view of leaders

expertise, influence,and image

use of crises to

demonstrate leaderscapabilities

*A supportive leadership style may be enhanced by encouraging more team-based work

activities or by increasing employee participation in decision making. However, the leaders

emotions are also at stake here; someone who previously though she or he was criticallyimportant and now finds her- or himself partially replaceable can suffer a demoralizing loss of

self-esteem.

Self-Leadership and Superleadership

Self-Leadership (Charles Manz and Henry Sims)

Two thrusts: leading oneself to perform naturally motivating tasks and managing oneselfto do work that is required but not naturally rewarding.

Requires behavioral skills of self-observation, self-set goals, management of cues, self-reward, rehearsal of activities prior to performance and self-criticism.

Involves the mental activities of building natural rewards into tasks, focusing thinking onnatural rewards, and establishing effective though patterns such as mental imagery and

self-talk.

Superleadership

Begins with a set of positive beliefs about workers. It requires practicing self-leadership

oneself and modeling it for others to see. Superleaders communicate positive self-

expectations to employees, reward their progress toward self-leadership, and make self-leadership an important part of the units desired culture.


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Coaching

A coach prepares, guides and directs a player but does not directly play the game. Theyrecognize that they are on the sidelines and not on the playing field. They cajole, prod, enable,

inspire, exhibit warmth and support and hold informal conversations. Coaches see themselves as

cheerleaders and facilitators while recognizing the occasional need to be tough and demanding.

Specific areas that managers admit need coaching in:

Improving their interaction style

Dealing more effectively with change

Developing their listening and speaking skills

*Prerequisite to successful coaching includes the employees willingness to change,

capability of changing, and the opportunity to practice new behaviors.

Other Approaches

Visionary Leaders- can paint a portrait of what the organization needs to become and

then use their communication skills to motivate others to achieve the vision esp. important

during times of transition.

Transformational Leadership& Leadership Trait of Charisma

(to be further discussed in the succeeding chapter)

Works Cited

Leadership. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2, 2010, from Wiley:

http://higheredbcs.wiley.com/legacy/college/schermerhorn/0471734608/module16/modul

e16.pdf

School leadership. (2010, May 6). Retrieved June 2, 2010, from Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_Leadership

Newstrom, J. W. (1998). Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior. New York: Mcgraw Hill

Education.

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