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1.3.2 Traditional Leadership Summary Points

1.3.2 Traditional Leadership Summary Points

Many Models of Traditional Leadership

Leadership in management has been studied signi cantly since WWII

These theories focus on varying levels of Leadership & Management

Each theory has been popular, and many are widely taught today

Traditional De nition of Leadership

According to Northouse’s Leadership: Theory and Practice:

65 di erent classi cation systems in past 60 years

Leadership in traditional workplace (before 1990) emphasize:

Traits – key traits make a leader

In uence – the ability to persuade instead of coerce

 Achieving Leader’s Wishes – getting others to do want leader wants

Transformation – elevating motivation and morality

The following are some popular leadership theories

Leadership Trait Theory

Image Description: This table shows the list of traits by major published research groups
over time: Stogdill (1948) - Intelligence,  Alertness,  Insight,  Responsibility,  Initiative, 
Persistence,  Self-Con dence,  Sociability| Mann (1959): Intelligence,  Masculinity, 
Adjustment,  Dominance,  Extraversion,  Conservatism| Stogdill (1974): Achievement, 
Persistence,  Insight,  Initiative,  Self-Con dence,  Responsibility,  Cooperativeness, 
Tolerance,  In uence,  Sociability|  Lord, DeVader, and Alliger (1986): Intelligence, 
Masculinity,  Dominance| Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991):  Drive,  Motivation,  Integrity, 
Con dence,  Cognitive, Ability, Task Knowledge|
Sources: Adapted from “The Bases of Social Power,” by J. R. P. French Jr. and B. Raven, 1962,
in D. Cartwright (Ed.), Group Dynamics: Research and Theory (pp. 259– 269), New York, NY:
Harper and Row; Zaccaro, Kemp, & Bader (2004). Northouse, Peter G.. Leadership: Theory
and Practice (p. 84). SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition. Table and list of traits is adopted
from Leadership: Theory and Practice by Northouse, Table 2.1

Major Leadership Traits from Northouse

These traits are summarized by Northouse as being grouped under the following ve

major traits:

Intelligence – reasoning, verbal uency, insight

Note: Sometimes a leader can have too much! Need to be higher, but aligned to
followers.

Self-Con dence - self-esteem, assurance, strong beliefs

Determination - persistence, dominance, drive, fortitude

Integrity - honesty, trustworthiness, and loyalty

Sociability - friendly, outgoing, courteous, and diplomatic

Primal Leadership Styles (Skills Extend Trait Theory)

Primal Intelligence leverages Emotional Intelligence (EQ), also called in this course
Emotional-Social Intelligence (ESI), to lead others through building a climate that's
productive. When it comes to Emotional Intelligence, it's best to think of it as a skill,
since it can be improved, although some consider it a trait since one's starting ability is
highly dependent on personality traits.

Traits, skills, and learned behaviors all come together in this Primal Leadership
approach. And we'll be discussing some ways to train later in this course and in the
next course series on Evolving as a Project Leader by Jocelyn Davis.
Image Description: This table shows the Primal Leadership Style. The rst style is
Commanding which demands compliance, saying "Do as I Say," using self-control,
initiative, and drive. Commanding style is best used in a crisis and an example is Harry
Truman's forced integration of the US Military. The second is Pacesetting. This style
sets high standards for performance, saying "Do as I do," by having drive, initiative, and
being conscientious. The style works best to get results from strong teams, and
examples of people who use this style are Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Jack Welch (GE).
The third is the Democratic Style that forges consensus with participation, saying "What
do you think?" using skills in collaboration, leadership, and communication. This style
works best to build commitment and an examplar of this style is Kim Jordan, CEO of
New Belgium Brewing. Fourth is the A liative Style that creates harmony and builds
bonds on the team, saying "people come rst," by using empathy, relationships, and
communication. It's best used to motivate under of after stress and an examplar is
John Torre, Manager of the New York Yankees. The fth style is Coaching that develops
people for the future by saying, "try this," and using skills in empathy, self-awareness,
and developing others. It's best used when improving the performance of others, such
as how Sam Allen improves others as CEO of John Deere. Lastly, there's the Visionary
style that mobilizes people towards a visions by saying, "come with me," using skills in
con dence, empathy, and in uence. It's best used when direction or a vision is needed,
and exemplars are Richard Branson, Barack Obama, and Nelson Mandela. 

Behavioral Leadership & the “Leadership Grid”

These styles are derived from the work by Daniel Goleman et al., from his HBR Article,
"Leadership That Gets Results," HBR March-April Issue, 2000.

1960’s Model of Management by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton

Focuses on analyzing the behavior of the Leader

Uses a two-dimensional grid to portray di erent leadership styles

Arguably there are three dimensions, because some styles emphasize self-

interest of Leader (see Indi erent and Opportunistic below)

There are seven styles identi ed in the "Leadership Grid" (aka the "Managerial
Grid"):

Indi erent (i.e. Impoverished) – manager protects self

Accommodating (i.e. Country Club)– caring and low-con ict

Dictatorial ("Produce or Perish")– demands, doesn’t ask or care, 

Status Quo ("Middle-of-the-road")– compromises all around

Sound (Team)– open-minded with clear priorities

Opportunistic – uses best style for self-gain, can include any style from the
base ve

Paternalistic* – rewards compliance with demands, switching between

Accommodating and Dictatorial
Image Description: The Managerial Grid shows the rst ve styles of leadership
according to Robert Blake and Jane Mouton. The styles are show as begin graded from
one (1) to nine (9) across two dimensions (concern for results as the x-axis vs. concern
for people as the y-axis). Here are the ratings: Indi erent (1,1), Accommodating (1,9),
Dictatorial (9,1), Status Quo (5,5), Sound Management (9,9). Note that Accommodating
and Dictatorial are starred because they are used by the Paternalistic style.

Situational Leadership

1970’s Model of Management by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard

Focused on explaining how leaders should behave towards employees, in

di erent situations

“Di erent Strokes for Di erent Folks, Depending on the Situation” – Paul Hersey

A prescriptive style that has three dimensions

 Directing Behavior by the Leader

Supporting Behavior by the Leader

Enthusiasm of the Follower

The goal is to move the follower through their four stages of progressions to
become self-reliant. This allows the leader to delegate to them fully.

Four stages of Situational Leadership:

1. Directing – Direct the unskilled but eager

2. Coaching – Develop less willing & less skilled

3. Supporting – Encourage able but less willing

4. Delegating – Delegate to willing & able

Image Description: Image shows the progression along the four stages of Situational
Leadership. First the follower is unskilled but eager, so there is little need to support
them to do the work but they need direction. In this rst stage the leader directs the
follower. Second stage requires coaching, as the follower loses willingness to do
something hard, and is still developing skills. Third stage, Supporting, is about
encouraging the follower to do a job they know how to do, but still do not love
(willingness varies). The fourth stage is Delegating, where a follower is capable and
willing to do the work, requiring no interaction from the Leader. The arrow shows the
intent is to aim for delegation.

Transformational Leadership

1980’s Model of Management based on traits or “personality” by Bernard Bass &

James MacGregor Burns

Emphasizes the ability for the leader to set the ideal and transform the
workplace in terms of "motivation and morality"

Requires that the Transformational Leader be able to deliver on four key

elements, called the "Four Is of Transformational Leadership:"

Idealized In uence (II) - modeling the best behavior both productive and
moral

Inspirational Motivation (IM)  - inspiring the follower with a vision that delivers

a higher moral and motivational purpose

Intellectual Stimulation (IS)  - challenges the status quo with innovation ideas
for change

Individualized Consideration (IC) -  supports follower by meeting their needs

and helping them grow

The theory is that by applying these elements of Transformational Leadership to

basic "Transactional Leadership" the result will be higher performance

The Transactional Leadership elements include:

Management by Exception - addressing and " xing" behavior that deviates

from the norm

Contingent Reward  - provides rewards for achieving goals and performing

duties as expected
Image Description: This image shows how leaders can progress from normal to full-
range leadership. It is set up as an equation, where Management by Exception plus
Contingent Reward add together to result in Expected Outcomes. This is called
"Transactional Leadership." Then those Expected Outcomes can be further
transformed by adding the four (4) Is of Transformational Leadership (Idealized
In uence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation, and Individualized
Consideration). The result of adding the Transformational Leadership elements to
Expected Outcomes is Performance Beyond Expectations.

Popular Traditional Models of Leadership 

These bullets summarize the Traditional Leadership styles discussed:

Traits-Based Leadership & Primal Leadership -  leaders have the “right stu ”

(traits) and use skills (Primal Leadership) as needed

Behavioral Leadership – Consider people & results to achieve alignment

Situational Leadership – adjust style based on follower skills and maturity

Transformational Leadership – lead with charisma, discipline, innovation, &

caring

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