Entrepreneurial Leadership for
Sustainable Development (ELSD)
PDM (2016 18)
Session 2
Theories of Leadership
Early Theories of Leadership
Skills Approach
Leader-centered approach. However, rather than focusing on personality characteristics, which is viewed
as innate and largely fixed, it focuses on skills and abilities that can be learned and developed.
Three Skill Approach (Katz)
Technical Human Conceptual
Technical Skills (Things): Knowledge about and proficiency in a specific type of work or activity.
Includes competencies in a specialized area, analytical ability, and ability to use appropriate tools
and techniques.
Human Skills (People): Knowledge about and ability to work with people.
Conceptual Skills (Ideas): Ability to work with ideas and concepts
Early Theories of Leadership
Skills Approach
Skills Model (Mumford et. Al)
INDIVIDUAL
ATTRIBUTES
Cognitive
Ability
Motivation
Personality
COMPETENCIES
Problem-Solving
Skills
Social Judgement
Skills
Knowledge
LEADERSHIP
OUTCOMES
Effective
Problem
Solving
Performance
Career Experiences
Environmental Influences
Early Theories of Leadership
Skills Approach
Career Experiences Leaders are shaped by their experience.
Therefore, leaders are not born, leaders can develop their abilities
through experience (according to skills model)
Environmental Influences
Internal Environment such as technology, facilities, expertise of subordinates, communication skills etc.
External Environment such as economic, social, political issues etc.
Early Theories of Leadership
Skills Approach
How does the skills approach work?
Skills approach makes leadership available to everyone.
Rather than providing prescriptions for success in leadership, the skills
approach provides a structure for understanding the nature of effective
leadership.
It emphasizes importance of certain leadership skills depending on
where leaders are in management hierarchy
Early Theories of Leadership
Skills Approach
Where it fails
Skills model has a weak predictive value as it does not explain how skills
lead to effective leadership performance
It is similar to traits model as cognitive abilities, motivation and
personality variables are also trait variables
Early Theories of Leadership
Style Approach
Style Approach emphasizes on the behavior of the leader as oppose to
emphasis on personality characteristics in Trait Approach and leaders
capabilities in Skills Approach
Emphasis on Task Behaviors and Relationship Behaviors
Task Behavior Facilitate goal accomplishment
Relationship Behavior Helps employees feel comfortable with each
other
Concern for People
BLAKE AND MOUTONs MANAGERIAL GRID
HIGH
Early Theories of Leadership
Style Approach
Country Club
Management (1, 9)
Middle of the road
Management (5, 5)
Impoverished
Management (1, 1)
LOW
Team Management (9, 9)
Authority
Compliance (9, 1)
Concern for Task
HIGH
Early Theories of Leadership
Style Approach
How does this approach work?
Style Approach emphasizes the need for action based on task and relationship
E.g. Depending upon the situation, leader has to be either task or relationship oriented
Style Approach broadened the basic approach of Leadership Research i.e. beyond skills
and traits
It provides broad conceptual map through which complexities of Leadership can be
understood
Early Theories of Leadership
Style Approach
Where it fails
It has not adequately explained how leaders style are
associated with performance outcomes
It fails to find a universal style of leadership
Theories of Leadership
Situational Approach
Focuses on leadership in situation(s).
Believes different situation requires different kind of leadership
Leadership comprises of both directive and supportive dimensions
Directive behaviors help the group accomplish goals by giving directions, establishing goals
and methods of evaluation, setting deadlines and showing how goals can be achieved
Supportive behavior helps group members feel comfortable about themselves, their
coworkers, and the situation. E.g. asking for inputs, praising, sharing information about
oneself and listening
To determine what is to be used when, a leader has to assess the competence and
commitment level of people and match his/her leadership style accordingly
LEADERSHIP STYLES
SUPPORTIVE BEHAVIOR
HIGH
SUPPORTING
COACHING
DELEGATING
DIRECTING
HIGH
DIRECTIVE BEHAVIOR
LOW
MODERATE
HIGH
D4
D3
DEVELOPED
D2
LOW
D1
DEVELOPING
COMPETENCE AND COMMITMENT LEVEL OF FOLLOWERS
Theories of Leadership
Situational Approach
How does it work?
For leaders to be effective, it is essential that they determine where subordinates are on the developmental continuum and adapt their
leadership style to the developmental level
It is a straightforward and a flexible approach
Theories of Leadership
Situational Approach
Where it fails
Situational Leadership can be criticized from practical standpoint because it does not
address the issue of one-to-one versus group leadership
E.g. should a leader with a group of 2 employees lead by matching his/her style to overall
development level of the group or to the development of individual members of the group?
It fails to take into account certain demographic characteristics e.g. education,
age, gender etc.
E.g. A research found out that female employees expressed strong preference for supportive
leadership and male employees for directive leadership
Theories of Leadership
Contingency Theory
Contingency Theory is a leader-match theory , which means it tries to
match leaders to appropriate situations
It is called contingency because it suggests that a leaders effectiveness
depends on how well the leaders style fits the context.
Effective leadership is contingent on matching a leaders style to the right
setting.
Theories of Leadership
Contingency Theory
How it works?
It draws our attention towards impact of Situation on
Leaders
Helps in predicting the type of leadership that will be
effective in certain context
Theories of Leadership
Contingency Theory
Where it fails?
It fails to explain why people with certain leadership style are
more effective in some situation than other
It fails to explain what organisations should do when there is a
mismatch between the leader and the situation in the
workplace.
