Leadership and

Influence Process

Chapter 17
Leadership
 Leadership can be defined both as process and
property.

 Process definition: leadership is the use of noncoercive

influence to shape the group’s or organization’s goals,
motivate behavior toward the achievement of those
goals, and help define group or organization culture.

 Property definition: leadership is the set of

characteristics attributed to individuals who are
perceived to be leaders.

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Power and Leadership

 Power is the ability to affect the behavior of

others.
 Kinds of power:
 Legitimate power
 Reward power
 Coercive power
 Reference power
 Expert power

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Continued…

 Using power:
 Legitimate request
 Instrumental compliance
 Coercion
 Rational persuasion
 Personal identification
 Inspirational appeal
 Information distortion

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Approaches to Studying
leadership
 Leadership traits approach
 Leadership behavior approach
 Situational approach

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Leadership Traits
 Assumption was that leaders possess certain
psychological, personal and physical traits which
distinguish them from non-leaders.
 This approach focused on identifying leadership traits
that will help to predict future leaders.
 Various studies found different leadership traits as
intelligence, assertiveness, above-average height, good
vocabulary, attractiveness, self confidence, and similar
attributes.
 Other studies also found many exceptions. So this
approach of analysis proved not to be very successful in
leadership analysis

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Leadership Behaviors

 Assumption is effective leaders behave

differently from less effective leaders.
 Three major study in this field are
 Michigan studies
 Ohio State studies
 Leadership grid

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Michigan Studies
 Study approach: interview of both leaders (mangers)
and follower (subordinates).
 Major findings:
 Two basic forms of leader behavior
 Job centered
 Employee centered
 The two styles are presumed to be at the end of a single
continuum. i.e. leaders may be extreme job centered,
employee centered or some what between these two.
 Employee centered leader behavior tended to be more
effective

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Ohio State Studies
 Study approach: extensive questionnaire survey.
 Major findings:
 two basic forms of leader behavior/style
 Initiating structure behavior
 Consideration behavior
 The two styles are independent of each other i.e. a leader
can show varying level of both style at the same time.
 Initial thought was that leaders having high degree of both
style tended to be effective
 Further research complicated the findings as
 Workers of high initiating structure leaders are high performer
but less satisfied with the job and tend more to be absent
 Workers of high consideration leaders are low performer but
highly satisfied and tend less to be absent.

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Leadership Grid
 This is an extension to the earlier two approaches
 It provides a means for evaluating leadership styles and
then training managers to move toward an ideal style of
behavior.
 It is also based two types of leadership behavior –
concern for production and concern for people

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Continued…
 Five extremes of
managerial behaviors
are shown on the grid.
 9,9 is the ideal
behavior.
 Mangers are trained to
achieve this style of
behavior.

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Situational Approaches to
leadership
 Assumption is that appropriate leader behavior varies
from one situation to another.
 The goal of this approach to identify the situational
factors and to specify how they interact to determine
appropriate leader behavior.
 Models to be reviewed:
 Tannenbaum and schmidt continunm
 LPC Theory
 Path – Goal Theory

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An early model of situational leadership
(Tannenbaum – Schmidt continuum)

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Continued..
 The model has similarity with Michigan approach i.e. considers a
continuum with two ends boss centered (job centered) and
subordinate centered (employee centered) but considers some
intermediate manager behavior.
 Each point on the continuum is influence by characteristics of the
manager, subordinate and the situation.
 Mangers’ characteristics: value system; confidence on sub,
feelings of security etc
 Subordinates’ characteristics: need for independence, readiness
for responsibility, knowledge, experience etc.
 Situational characteristics: type of org., group effectiveness, the
problem itself, time pressure etc.


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Least Preferred Coworker
(LPC) Theory
 Proponent: Fred Fiedler
 Assumption: It argues that the style of behavior is a reflection of
the leader’s personality, and that most personalities fall into one
of this two categories by nature.
 Task-oriented
 Relationship oriented
 Approach:
 questionnaire survey of managers about least preferred worker
that measures mangers personality through sixteen statements
with by polar adjectives (positive and negative at two end)
 It used 8 point scale with 8 indicating positive and 1 indicating
negative adjective
 Leader’s LPC score was calculated by adding up the scale value
and high scores reflect relationship orientation whereas low
scores reflect task orientation.

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Continued…
 Other elements of the theory:
 Favorableness of the situation

 Favorableness and leader style

 Flexibility of leader style

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Path-Goal Theory
 It is an extension of expectancy theory of motivation.
 It suggests that the primary functions of a leader are to
make valued or desired rewards available in the
workplace and to clarify for the subordinate the kinds of
behavior that will lead to goal achievement and valued
rewards.

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Continued…

 The Path-Goal Framework:

Subordinates’ Leader behavior Environmental
personal characteristics
•Directive
characteristics
•Supportive •Task structure
•Perceived
ability •Participative •Authority
system
•Locus of •Achievement
control oriented •Work group.

Subordinates’ motivation to perform

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Personal reading

 Related perspective on leadership

 Substitutes for leadership
 Charismatic leadership
 Transformational leadership
 Political behavior in organization
 Common political behavior
 Managing political behavior

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