Basic Approaches to Leadership
Leadership vs Management
Leadership is defined as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals. Leadership is about coping with change, management is about coping with complexity. Good management brings about order and consistency by drawing up formal plans, designing rigid organization structures, and monitoring results against plans. Management consists of implementing the vision and strategy provided by leaders, coordinating and staffing the organization, and handling day-to-day problems.
Leaders are born?
In the trait theories of leadership leaders are born. Trait theories identify leaders by focusing on personal qualities and characteristics. These types of leaders can be described as charismatic, enthusiastic and courageous. Researchers have found that most of the traits emerge from the Big-5 Personality traits. It has been found that extraversion is the most important trait of effective leaders. Conscientiousness and openness to experience also showed strong and consistent relationship to leadership, but not as strong as extraversion. The traits of agreeableness and emotional stability weren’t as strongly correlated with leadership. Another trait that is important to be an effective leader is emotional intelligence (EI).
The differences between trait and behavioral theories of leadership.
The difference between trait and behavioral theories, in terms of application, lies in their underlying assumptions. If trait theories were valid, then leaders are born rather than made. On the other hand, if there were specific behaviors that identified leaders, then we could teach leadership – we could design programs that implanted these behavioral patterns in individuals who desired to be effective leaders.
Some of the behavioral theory of leadership?
a. Ohio State studies, 1940s. Two-factor conceptualization of leadership. Initiating structure and consideration are the two dimensions of leadership behavior described by employees. Initiating structure is the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of subordinates in the search for goal attainment. Consideration is described as the extent to which a leader is likely to have job relationships characterized by mutual trust, respect for subordinates’ ideas, and regard for their feelings.
b. University of Michigan studies, 1940s. Two dimensions of leadership behavior; employee-oriented leaders and production-oriented leaders. Employee-related leader emphasizes interpersonal relations, take a personal interest in the needs of employees, and accepts individual differences among members. Meanwhile, production oriented leader emphasizes technical or task aspects of the job.
c. Managerial grid was proposed by Blake and Mouton based on the styles of “concern for people” and “concern for production.” It is a nine-by-nine matrix outlining 81 different leadership styles. The grid shows the dominating factors in leader’s thinking in regard to getting results. Their findings show that managers were found to perform best under 9,9 style.
Fiedler Model
A contingency model that focus on rationality. Intelligence and experience influence the level of stress. Effective intellectual abilities + Ineffective experience = Low Stress
Ineffective intellectual abilities + Effective experience + High Stress
Leader-member exchange (LMX)
A theory that supports leaders’ creation of in-groups and out-groups; subordinates with in-group status will have higher performance ratings, less turnover, and greater job satisfaction. It argues that because of time pressures, leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their subordinates. The leader, however, is exposed to the influence of groupthink.
Hersey and Blanchard Situational leadership theory argue that the correct leadership style is contingent on the level of the follower’s readiness.
by Jakaria Dasan
School of Business and Economics
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Leadership is defined as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals. Leadership is about coping with change, management is about coping with complexity. Good management brings about order and consistency by drawing up formal plans, designing rigid organization structures, and monitoring results against plans. Management consists of implementing the vision and strategy provided by leaders, coordinating and staffing the organization, and handling day-to-day problems.
Leaders are born?
In the trait theories of leadership leaders are born. Trait theories identify leaders by focusing on personal qualities and characteristics. These types of leaders can be described as charismatic, enthusiastic and courageous. Researchers have found that most of the traits emerge from the Big-5 Personality traits. It has been found that extraversion is the most important trait of effective leaders. Conscientiousness and openness to experience also showed strong and consistent relationship to leadership, but not as strong as extraversion. The traits of agreeableness and emotional stability weren’t as strongly correlated with leadership. Another trait that is important to be an effective leader is emotional intelligence (EI).
The differences between trait and behavioral theories of leadership.
The difference between trait and behavioral theories, in terms of application, lies in their underlying assumptions. If trait theories were valid, then leaders are born rather than made. On the other hand, if there were specific behaviors that identified leaders, then we could teach leadership – we could design programs that implanted these behavioral patterns in individuals who desired to be effective leaders.
Some of the behavioral theory of leadership?
a. Ohio State studies, 1940s. Two-factor conceptualization of leadership. Initiating structure and consideration are the two dimensions of leadership behavior described by employees. Initiating structure is the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of subordinates in the search for goal attainment. Consideration is described as the extent to which a leader is likely to have job relationships characterized by mutual trust, respect for subordinates’ ideas, and regard for their feelings.
b. University of Michigan studies, 1940s. Two dimensions of leadership behavior; employee-oriented leaders and production-oriented leaders. Employee-related leader emphasizes interpersonal relations, take a personal interest in the needs of employees, and accepts individual differences among members. Meanwhile, production oriented leader emphasizes technical or task aspects of the job.
c. Managerial grid was proposed by Blake and Mouton based on the styles of “concern for people” and “concern for production.” It is a nine-by-nine matrix outlining 81 different leadership styles. The grid shows the dominating factors in leader’s thinking in regard to getting results. Their findings show that managers were found to perform best under 9,9 style.
Fiedler Model
A contingency model that focus on rationality. Intelligence and experience influence the level of stress. Effective intellectual abilities + Ineffective experience = Low Stress
Ineffective intellectual abilities + Effective experience + High Stress
Leader-member exchange (LMX)
A theory that supports leaders’ creation of in-groups and out-groups; subordinates with in-group status will have higher performance ratings, less turnover, and greater job satisfaction. It argues that because of time pressures, leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their subordinates. The leader, however, is exposed to the influence of groupthink.
Hersey and Blanchard Situational leadership theory argue that the correct leadership style is contingent on the level of the follower’s readiness.
by Jakaria Dasan
School of Business and Economics
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Comments
Post a Comment