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LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
Leadership is a process by which an executive can direct, guide and influence the behaviour
and work of others towards accomplishment of specific goals in a given situation.
Leadership is the capacity to influence a group towards the realization of a goal.
Leaders are required to develop future visions, and to motivate the organizational members
to want to achieve the visions.
Leadership is situation bound. There is no best style of leadership. It all depends upon
tackling with the situations.
Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and
to achieve organizational goals.
The Tasks of a Leader
a. Initiating action- Leader puts in motion the work by communicating the policies and plans to
the subordinates and initiating action.
b. Motivating subordinates and creating confidence in the organisation –
Motivation of subordinates through economic and non-economic rewards to get the
work done in most efficient manner
Explain the roles of the subordinates clearly
Hear the employees with regards to their complaints and problems, thereby creating
trust and confidence in the organisation
c. Providing guidance and building morale
Guidance to the subordinates
Instructing the subordinates, the way they have to perform their work effectively and
efficiently
Morale booster by achieving full co-operation from subordinates. In this regard, a
leader has to invite suggestions and if possible implement them into plans and
programmes of enterprise. This way, he can solicit full support of employees which
results in willingness to work and thereby effectiveness in running of a concern.
d. Achieving co-ordination
By reconciling/integrating personal interests with organizational goals.
Synchronization can be achieved through proper and effective co-ordination
e. Representing the organization-
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Representative of the enterprise at seminars, conferences, general meetings, etc.
His role is to communicate the rationale of the enterprise to outside public.
He is also representative of the own department or team which he leads.
Leadership Styles
Style Also called Features Advantages Disadvantages
Centralised/ unilateral decision Suitable when employees Creative employees who thrive
Authoritaria
making with the leader; require close supervision, job in group functions detest this
n;
Autocratic Complete structuring of the is monotonous, unskilled and leadership style and may lead
Directive;
work is done for the routine in nature or where the to greater employee
Nomothetic
subordinates by the leader project is short-term and risky absenteeism and turnover
Decisions are made by the
Boosts employee morale as
Democratic; leader in consultation with
employees participate in
Consultative subordinates thereby leading
Participative decision-making process; It is time consuming
; to mental and emotional
Helpful in acceptance of
Ideographic involvement of a person in
change by employees
group situations
Complete freedom to Helps subordinates to
Produces no leadership or
subordinates; Policy develop independent
supervision efforts from
determined by leader while personality; Suitable for
Laissez-faire Free-rein managers, which can lead to
process left to subordinates; highly experienced and
poor production, lack of
No regular feedback given to trained employees requiring
control and increasing costs
subordinates little supervision
Leaders strictly adhere to the
organizational rules and This leadership style is more
Discourages creativity and
policies and make sure that suitable when safe work
Bureaucratic does not make employees
the employees also strictly conditions and quality are
self-contented.
follow the rules and required
procedures.
Managers and team
members set predetermined The transactional leaders
Suitable when the
goals together, and overemphasize detailed and
organizational problems are
Managerial; employees agree to follow short-term goals, and
simple and clearly defined.
Telling style the direction and leadership standard rules and
Transactional The exchange between
of of the manager to procedures. They do not
leader and follower takes
leadership accomplish those goals. The make an effort to enhance
place to achieve routine
leader believes in motivating followers’ creativity and
performance goals
through a system of rewards generation of new ideas.
and punishment.
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Leaders focus on the big
Leaders motivate employees
picture within an It requires a very well
and enhance productivity
organization and delegate organised team and requires
and efficiency through
smaller tasks to the team to their followers to be creative
Transformatio Quiet communication and high
accomplish goals; Such and is thus, bad fit in a
nal Leaders visibility; Maximizes teams’
leaders lead by example; bureaucratic structure;
capability and capacity; good
they use rapport, inspiration, ineffective in initial stage or
at balancing short-term
or empathy to engage ad-hoc situations
visions and long-term goals
followers
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Leadership Theories
1. Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid/Leadership Grid
Given By – Robert Blake & Jane Mouton
Basic Theory - The grid depicted two dimensions of leader behaviour, concern for people
(accommodating people’s needs and giving them priority) on y-axis and concern for production
(keeping tight schedules) on x-axis, with each dimension ranging from low (1) to high (9), thus
creating 81 different positions in which the leader’s style may fall.
Country Club (1,9) Team Management (9,9)
collegial style high people and task focus
based on theory Y of McGregor
low task and high people
Most effective style according to
orientation Blake and Mouton
leader believes that a friendly Result = team atmosphere with
and comfortable treatment high employee satisfaction and
with employees = self- production
motivation to work hard
low focus on tasks =
questionable results
Impoverished Mgt. (1,1) Task Management (9,1)
Low concern for people and Dictatorial/Perish style
low concern for work Based on Theory X of McGregor
deadlines more concern for production and
Result = disharmony in firm less concern for people
Middle of the Road (5,5)
Leader = ineffective Result = high output in short run,
compromising style
high labour turnover & cost in long
leader tries to maintain a
balance between goals of run
company and the needs of
people
Result = average
performance for
organization
2. Trait Theory
Basic Theory –an individual who has traits relevant to leadership emerges as an effective leader. It
seeks to determine “what makes a successful leader” from the personal characteristics of the leader
himself. The following are the core traits identified:
Achievement drive: High level of effort, high levels of ambition, energy and initiative
Leadership motivation: an intense desire to lead others to reach shared goals
Honesty and integrity: trustworthy, reliable, and open
Self-confidence: Belief in one’s self, ideas, and ability
Cognitive ability: Capable of exercising good judgment, strong analytical abilities, and
conceptually skilled
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Knowledge of business: Knowledge of industry and other technical matters
Emotional Maturity: well adjusted, does not suffer from severe psychological disorders.
Communication skills: coherent and objective communication
Others: charisma, creativity and flexibility, social skills, empathy
Advantages
It serves as a yardstick against which the leadership traits of an individual can be assessed.
It gives a detailed knowledge and understanding of the leader element in the leadership
process.
Limitations
Involves subjective judgment in determining who is regarded as a ‘good’ or ‘successful’
leader
The list of possible traits tends to be very long. More than 100 different traits of successful
leaders in various leadership positions have been identified. These descriptions are simply
generalities.
disagreement over which traits are the most important for an effective leader
The model attempts to relate physical traits such as, height and weight, to effective
leadership.
3. Great Man Theory/Great Person Theory
The leaders are born and not made
They possess certain traits/attributes that set them apart from others and that
these traits are responsible for their assuming positions of power and authority
Great leaders can arise when there is a great need
4. Leadership-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory
Given By – George B Graen
Also called – Vertical Dyadic linkage theory
Basic Theory –
Focuses on two-way (dyadic) relationship between leaders and followers
Leaders form different kinds of relationships with various groups of subordinates.
The quality of the relationship is reflected by the degree of mutual trust, loyalty,
support, respect, and obligation.
One group, referred to as the in-group, is favoured by the leader while the other
subordinates fall into the out-group (disfavoured by leader)
LMX Theory focuses on the significance of communication in leadership.
5. House’s Path Goal Theory
Given By – Robert House
Basic Theory
Servant leadership i.e. leadership is not viewed as a position of power, but leaders act as
coaches and facilitators to their subordinates.
Expectancy theory of motivation i.e. an employee’s perception of expectancies between his
effort and performance is greatly affected by a leader’s behaviour
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This theory gives a guide map to the leaders about how to increase subordinates’
satisfaction and performance level.
A leader’s effectiveness depends on several employee and environmental contingent factors
and certain leadership styles:
Employee contingencies
employees’ needs,
locus of control,
Directive:
experience,
Leader provides guidelines, lets subordinates
know what is expected of them, sets Environmental contingencies perceived ability,
performance standards for them, and controls outside the control of satisfaction,
behaviour when performance standards are not employee willingness to leave the
met. organization,
Task structure & team
He makes judicious use of rewards and
dynamics anxiety
disciplinary action.
For example,
The style is same as task-oriented For example,
Supportive style - for Supportive style - if followers’
Supportive: employees performing ability is perceived to be low
The leader is friendly towards subordinates and simple and routine tasks
displays personal concern for their needs,
Participative style - non-
welfare, and well-being.
routine tasks
This style is same as people-oriented
leadership. Supportive style - When
team cohesiveness is low
Participative: Directive style - to
The leader believes in group decision-making counteract team norms that
and shares information with subordinates. oppose the team’s formal
He consults his subordinates on important
objectives
decisions.
Achievement-oriented style -
Achievement-oriented: performance-oriented team
The leader sets challenging goals and norms exist
encourages employees to reach their peak
performance.
The leader believes that employees are
responsible enough to accomplish challenging
goals.
This is same as goal-setting theory.
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6. Likert’s Management System
Given By – Rensis Likert
Basic Theory –
The efficiency of the organization is influenced by their system of management.
The theory identifies 4 management systems based on the organizational variables
System 1 System 2 System 3 System 4
Leadership Exploitative Benevolent
Consultative Participative
Style Authoritative Authoritative
Variables
managerial levels but
Responsibility Top management not at the lower spread widely Widespread
levels
condescending
Trust in
Nil confidence (master- substantial Complete trust
subordinates servant relationship
with superiors; Some amount of Goals based on
Decision with superiors; orders
instructions to discussion with participation by
Making to subordinates
subordinates subordinates subordinates
Very little; always Little; always Extensive
Communication moderate
distrust caution interaction; friendly
Motivational Fear, threats and Rewards and Rewards, Goal setting and
forces punishment punishment involvement in job improvement in job
A firm should aim to move from System 1 to
System 4 to have an ideal system
7. Hersey Blanchard Model
Given by – Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard
Also called – Life cycle Theory of leadership, Situational Leadership Theory
Basic Theory –
The leader has to match the leadership style according to the readiness of subordinates
Readiness of subordinates = ability (knowledge, experience, skill) and willingness
(motivation, commitment) to accomplish a specific task
The leadership style is defined on two parameters – task behaviour (extent to which the
leader spells out the duties and responsibilities of a subordinate) and relationship behaviour
(Extent to which the leader listens to the followers, and provides encouragement to them)
4 styles of leadership exist corresponding to the readiness of the subordinate as follows:
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8. Fiedler’s Contingency Model
Given by – Fred E. Fiedler
Basic Theory
Leaders are categorized on a LPC (least preferred co-worker) scale.
leaders with high LPC scores are relationship-oriented and the ones with low scores are task-
oriented
Leader’s behavior is dependent upon the favourability of the leadership situation which is
determined from 3 situational variables (given below in table).
Situation Variables:
Leader – member
relation - degree to
which the leaders is
trusted and liked by
the group members
Task Structure -
degree to which the
group’s task has
been described as
structured or
unstructured
Position Power -
degree to which the
leader can exercise
authority on group
members
9. Continuum Leadership Behavior
Given By - Tannenbaum and Schmidt
Basic Theory –
continuum of possible leadership behaviour available to a manager and along which
many leadership styles may be placed
can be related to McGregor’s supposition of Theory X and Theory Y. Boss-centered
leadership is towards theory X and subordinate-centered leadership is towards theory Y
Choice of leadership style depends on 3 factors –
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o Forces in manager (leader’s value system, confidence in subordinates,
leadership inclination, feelings of security in an uncertain situation, etc.)
o Forces in subordinates (Readiness to assume responsibility, degree of tolerance
for ambiguity, Interest in the problem, needs for independence, Knowledge and
experience, Understanding and identification with the goals of the organization,
etc.)
o Forces in the situation (type of organisation, group effectiveness, nature of
problem, time pressure, etc.)
Boss-centered leadership
Use of authority by manager
Area of freedom for subordinates
Subordinate-centered leadership
Styles of
leadership based
on degree of
control
maintained by
the leader
Effective Leader
An effective leader is one who meets the job requirements, team requirements as well as individual
requirements.
In addition to being intelligent, self-confident, technically skilled and knowledgeable with good
communication skills, a leader should possess the following soft skills to be effective:
Strength of character
It defines who they are, what they will do, what they would not do, and what they stand for
Deep-rooted value system, ethical, ability to withstand pressure, commitment, honesty,
resourcefulness, determination, feeling of responsibility and accountability, judgment, etc.
Vision
Ability to be a visionary and have a sense of future possibilities
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not threatened by the future and can show pathways to the future which the followers can
follow
have innovative, rational, credible, clear, motivating ideas
Relationship effectiveness
Management is all about people and the relationships that one builds with those whom one
encounters
Does not mean that the leader should be a people pleaser, but he should be able to nurture
and incubate relationships in a way that has a positive influence on the organisation.
Provides work-life balance, encourages questions and ideas from subordinates, facilitates
brain-storming, has empathy, grows subordinates professionally, etc.
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