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Chapfuo"Il[o**u

Iooking Back
the of Qllf herehavebeennumerousattemptsto defineand describe process leading. lll f" understandauthenticleadingbetter,it is helpful to take a brief look at what hasbeendone, how it hasevolved,and what we havelearnedfrom rhoseefforts.

Great Man Theory


The first formal approachto leadershipis often characterized the "Great Man" as 'men' theory.This posia that somemen (and in this case ri genderspecific)were born to becomeleaders. courseit was easyto assume Of that someone who became a greatleaderwasdestinedto do so. It wasnot so easy predict that someone would to becomea greatleader. This theory is contradictedboth by the fact that there arean increasing number of highly effectivewomen leaders and though we may inherit a few advantages from our DNA, overwhelmingevidence showsthat greatleaders made,not born. No are one would havepredictedthat the frail and shyyoung Gandhi would everhavecome to be cdled Mahatma (greatsoul) and widely recognized the fatherof his country. as

Tiait Theories
In the 1930sand 1940sthis led to closerexaminationof the qudities of suchleaders. Are there universd raits that could then be usedto predict the next great leader? Among theseraits wereintelligence,extroversion, integriry,emotiond stability,and self-confidence.rOne problem was that numeroussrudiesrhat identified lists of
Pctcr Nonhouc, Lcadctthip: Tlnory and hzdicc (Thomd O&: Sagc,2OO7r,19-23.

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srudiesdocumentedthat theseand other traits trairs seldom matched.Subsequent werenot universalamong leaders.2 in there has been a resurgence interestin leaderraits. In spite of Nevertheless, finding thesefew relativelysimilar raits among leaders,they have been shown to may exhibit thosetraits, those havelittle predictivevalue,that is, while many leaders themselves. who exhibit rhosetraits in the population at largerarelybecomeleaders Still, thesefew rai*, most ofwhich can be learned,may be beneficialin developing effectiveleaders.

Behavioral Theories
focused leader on behaviors, studies the In rhe 1950s, Ohio StateUniversityleadership identifying two major components:(a) consideration behaviorsthat signal trust, that warmrh, and communicationand (b) initiation of structure- behaviors respecr, focus on of facilirateaccomplishment a raskor goal.3Somehad arguedthat leaders eitherpeopleor task.However,thesestudiesshowedthat theseare two independent who ratehigh in bofi peopleand variables. Generdly,studies haveshownthat leaders in other culturessuchasJap*. taskcategories more effecdve, are including-leaders Many training programsarebased theseswodimensions,often in the form of on Blake and Mouron's popular Leadership Gidin which having both high'people" and "taslC'orientations referredto as'team management." found Someresearchers is that leaderscould also be effectivefocusing on only one of thesedimensions. Nevertheless, behavior theoriesadded to our understandingof the importance of both taskand peoplefor effecdveleading.

Situational Theories
Some researchers began to notice that behavioraltheoriesdid not account for differences the situations which leaders in in GaryYukl, for example, found themselves. found that the degree participative of leadership disdnct from peopleand task.a is This led to the developmenr several of situational leadership theories.
For *anplc, Bcnnis & Nanus, 1985 md Cluk & Clark, 1994. SecClark & Cluk, 1994nd Nordrous, 2007. GaryYukl, Lcadaship Organiutiorc,3d cd. (Engloood Cliffs, Prcntice-Hall,1994). in

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AUTHENTIC LEADING: \fHERE THE BLUE SKY HITS THE ROAD

with the situation. behavior ties to matchthe leader Theory Fiedler's Contingencl (b) relations, task of eight combinations threefactors:(a) leader-member It creates studies and srrucrure, (c) positionpower.In spiteof its wide usein industry extensive haveshownconflictingresults. how the natureof the task(sructured Theoryexamined Path-Goal RobertHouse's vs. unstructured)and the extent of direction provided by the leaderimpac the motivation of followers.Four leadersrylesare described:Directive, suPPortive, and are The and achievement-oriented. sryles not mutually exclusive participarive, conclusions. of abouthalf of the studies this rheoryprovidecontradictory alter their Theory,leaders SituationalLeadership In Hersheyand Blanchard's followert abiliry to perform a task and the individual's behaviorbasedon rhe are described sryles or willingness morivarionto perform the task.The leadership leadership Hersheyand Blanchard's participating,selling,and telling. delegaring, intuitively accurate componentthat seems includesa followerdevelopment rheory only provides asfollowerslearn and mature.In spiteof its populariry the research limited supportfor part of the theory. DecisionTheoryprovides decision rules for leaders Vroom and Yetton! Lead.er Although and participadve. Autocratic,consultive, sryles: based upon threeleadership leadert ability to that the there is supporr for this rheory there is someevidence may be much more important. manage conflict Theoryr challengesthe impact of leader behaviorson Leader Substitutes task and basedon subordinate, outcomes.Leadersubstitutes, organizational leadertinfluenceon a grouP. the or may characterisrics, reduce enhance organizational include:Abiliry the rhat may reduceor neutralize needfor leadership Substitutes and experience training; routinetasla;and rigid, unbendingrulesand procedures. to providesfour approaches leadingbase Theory Bolemanand Dealt FourFrames by is characterized a . on four dternadve conrexrsor situations The stractural fame mechanistichierarchywith authoritarian chain of command and structured systems and decision-makingtools. The human retources management fame is professional use by characterized collegialrelationships, of empowerment, The values, and consensus decision-making. politicalfame is shared development, by characrerized conflict and competition that require bargaining,influence,

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decisions. And the symbolic nerworkingand codition building to reach negoriation, with shared sense mission,values of and by fame is characterized organicstrucrure leaders asfacilitators act rhatprovidemeans interpretationfor meaningwhere of beliefs and to decisions acrions. or catdysts indicate that the situadon in which one leadsdoes Collectively,theseapproaches haveimplications on how one guides.However,the match beween a particular style - amongthosearticulatedin theseapproaches and the situation variables not at is clearat this point. all

Relationship Theory
Theory(LMX) focuses leadingasa dyadic relationship on Exchange Leader-Member leaderand follower. Here the focus is on the interaction insteadof a oneberween The earlystudiesfocused the "ingroup" on way,top-down approachofother theories. were relationships. Ingroup exchanges found and "our group' natureofleader-follower for followers,groups, to be of high qualiry and led to more posiriveoutcomes leaders, tended to focus on formal and the organization in generd. Outgroup occhanges rhat communications just doing thejob and goinghome.LMX proposes leaders and interactions should rhereforetreat all followersasif they arepart of the ingroup. All shouldbe high-qualiryexchanges. in of This theoryhighlighmthe importance relationships the process leading. of There are additional sources that contribute to this that will be examinedin more detail in Chapter 7. Someauthorshavegone so far asto arguethat leadershipis all aboutreladonship. too \X/hile thisapproach simplyignores manyimportantqualities of effective leadership, doeshelp articulatethe magnitudeof the roleof relationships ir in the process leading.. of

Summary
'What havewe learnedabout leadingfrom thesetheories? First, leaders made,not are born. Nor arethey all men!There aresometraits found ro be fairly common among goodleaders, theydo not predicteffective Leaders needto payattention but leadership. to both peopleand taskto be effective. Different situationsmay be requireddiffercnt leaders behaviorsto achieve optimal ourcomes,though exactlywhat behaviorsand in what situationsis not at all clear.And, finally, the leader-followerrelationshipis

very important in the process leading. of

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