Micro-Organizational Behavior

Leadership (cont.)

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 A Few Questions
• Does leadership matter?
– For organizations
– For people in organizations
• Are leaders born or made (nature/nurture)?
• Is leadership equally important in all
cultures?
• Are leaders and managers the same thing?
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 Leadership doesn’t matter?
• Salancik and Pfeffer
– All leaders are fundamentally the same
– There are internal constraints on leader
behavior (roles)
– External factors are more important in
determining organizational performance (e.g.
competition, scarce resources, government
regulation, etc.)

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Leadership does matter!
• Research suggests that leadership explains
about 10% of an organizations performance
• Even if good leadership doesn’t matter, bad
leadership definitely does
• Not all leaders are alike, nor are many
managerial jobs
• We’re not just talking about CEO’s
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 Leadership - Key Terms
• Leadership: The exercise of influence by
one member of a group or organization over
other members to help the group or
organization achieve its goals.
• Leader: An individual who is able to
influence group or organizational members
to help the group or organization achieve its
goals.
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 Leadership - Key Terms
• Formal Leader: A member of an organization
who is given authority to influence other
organizational members to achieve organizational
goals.

• Informal Leader: An organizational member

with no formal authority to influence others, but
who has special skills or talents to influence
others.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Approaches to Understanding
Effective Leadership
• Trait Approach
• Behavior Approach
• Fiedler’s Contingency Model
• Path-Goal Theory
• Vroom and Yetton Model
• Leader-Member Exchange Theory
• Charismatic/Visionary Theory
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 Trait Theory of Leadership

An attempt to identify specific characteristics

(physical, mental, personality) associated with
leadership success. The theory relies on
research that relates various traits to certain
success criteria.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 “Traits” that have been the focus of
leadership research

Intelligence Personality

Supervisory Physical
Ability Characteristics
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 Traits Associated with
Leadership Effectiveness
Intelligence Personality Abilities

Judgment Adaptability Ability to enlist cooperation

Decisiveness Alertness Cooperativeness
Knowledge Creativity Popularity & prestige
Fluency of speech Personal integrity Sociability
Self-confidence Social participation
Emotional balance Tact, diplomacy
and Control
Independence
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 Trait Theory - Criticisms
• For at least some traits, it is not clear which
comes first, being in a leadership position
or possessing the trait in question.

• The trait approach provides little guidance

concerning what advice or training to give
current or soon-to-be leaders.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Behavioral Approaches

In the late 1940s, researchers began to explore the

notion that how a person acts determines that
person’s leadership effectiveness. Instead of
searching for traits, these researchers examined
leader behaviors and their impact on the performance
and satisfaction of followers.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 The Michigan Studies

• The Michigan Studies were conducted to

determine the pattern of leadership behavior
that result in effective group performance.
• The researchers found that leadership
consists of two separate dimensions:
– Job-centered leader behavior.
– Employee-centered leader behavior.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 The Michigan Studies
Job-Centered Leader Employee-Centered
Behavior Leader Behavior
Attempts to build work Attempts to build work
group performance by group performance by
paying attention to the paying attention to the
efficient completion of human aspects of the
the task. Primary group. Primary emphasis
emphasis is on the task. is on the person.

The studies suggested that a leader could exhibit either

behavior, but not both at the same time.
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 The Ohio State Studies

• The Ohio State Studies were conducted at

about the same time as the Michigan
Studies.
• The Ohio State Studies found that leaders
engaged in two separate sets of leadership
behaviors, referred to as consideration and
initiating structure.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 The Ohio State Studies
Consideration Initiating Structure

Involves being concerned Involves clearly defining

with subordinates’ the leader-subordinate
feelings and respecting roles so that subordinates
subordinates’ ideas. know what is expected of
them.

Unlike the Michigan Studies variables, consideration and initiating

structure were not thought to be on the same continuum. Instead,
they were seen as independent dimensions of leadership behavior.
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 Why Trait and Behavior
Approaches Fall Short
Trait
Trait approaches
approaches consider
consider
personal
personal characteristics
characteristics of
of the
the
leader
leader that
that may
may be
be important
important A
A shortcoming
shortcoming of of both
both
in
in achieving
achieving success
success inin aa of
of these
these approaches
approaches
leadership
leadership role.
role. is
is that
that they
they fail
fail to
to take
take
into
into account
account thethe
interaction
interaction between
between
people,
people, tasks,
tasks, and
and
Behavioral
Behavioral approaches
approaches attempt
attempt environment.
environment.
to
to specify
specify which
which kinds
kinds of
of
leader
leader behaviors
behaviors are
are necessary
necessary
for
for effective
effective leadership.
leadership.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

Situational Theory of Leadership
An approach to leadership advocating the
leaders understand their own behavior, the
behavior of their subordinates, and the
situation before utilizing a particular
leadership style. This approach requires
diagnostic skills in human behavior on the
part of the leader.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 The Contingency Leadership
Model
• Description of the Model
– The contingency model of leadership
effectiveness was developed by Fiedler and
postulates that the performance of groups is
dependent on the interaction between
leadership style and situational favorableness.
• Leadership style is measured by the Least-Preferred
Coworker Scale (LPC).

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
• The theory that leader effectiveness is
determined by both the personal
characteristics of leaders and by the
situation in which leaders find themselves.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Fiedler's’ Situational
Characteristics
• Leader-Member Relations - The
relationship between a leader and his or her
followers.
• Task Structure - The extent to which the
work to be performed by a group is clearly
defined.
• Position Power - The amount of formal
authority a leader has.
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 Fiedler’s Theory
• An evaluation of the three situational
characteristics will suggest that either a
relationship-oriented leadership style or a
task-oriented leadership style is best.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

Favorability of Situations for Leading

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Relationship-Oriented Leadership Style
• Best in situations where the first priority is
to develop good relationships with
subordinates and the second priority is to
get the job done.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Task-Oriented Leadership Style
• Best in situations where the first priority is
getting the job done and the second priority
is developing good relationships with
subordinates.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Path-Goal Theory
• A theory which describes how leaders can
motivate their followers to achieve group
and organizational goals and the kinds of
behaviors leaders can engage in to motivate
followers.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Path-Goal Theory
• Effective leaders motivate their followers to
achieve group and organizational goals.

• Effective leaders make sure that they have

control over outcomes their subordinates
desire.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Path-Goal Theory
• Effective leaders reward subordinates for
performing at a high level or achieving their
work goals by giving them desired
outcomes.

• Effective leaders raise their subordinates’

beliefs about their ability to achieve their
work goals and perform at a high level.
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.
 Path-Goal Theory
• In determining how to treat their
subordinates and what behaviors to engage
in, effective leaders take into account their
subordinates’ characteristics and the type of
work they do.

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 Path-Goal Theory
• Directive Behavior
• Supportive Behavior
• Participative Behavior
• Achievement-Oriented Behavior

Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.

 The Path-Goal Model
Follower/Subordinate
Characteristics
- Locus of control
- Experience
- Ability

Leader Behavior/Styles Followers/Subordinates Outcome

- Directive - Perceptions - Satisfaction
- Supportive
- Motivation - Performance
- Participative
- Achievement-oriented

Environmental Factors
- Tasks
- Formal authority systems
- Work group
Copyright 1999 by Brent Smith, Ph.D.