Principles of Management

Dr. Karim Kobeissi

Islamic University of Lebanon
- 2013

Chapte
r

Leadership

Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, you will be able
to:
Define leadership and leader.
Compare and contrast early leadership theories.
Describe

the

three

major

(situational) leadership theories.

Describe modern views of leadership.

contingency

Leadership and Leaders

Leadership is the process by which a person exerts
influence over other people and inspires, motivates, and
directs their activities to help achieve organizational
goals.
The person who carries out leadership is a leader.
Because

leading

is

one

of

the

four

management

functions, ideally all managers should be leaders.

Early Leadership Theories

Researchers began studying leadership and focused on
the:
1. The trait theories of leadership.
2. The behavioral theories of leadership.

The Trait Theories of

The Leadership
trait Theories of leadership which dominated
early leadership research efforts, focused on
identifying the personal characteristics that
are responsible for effective leadership.
Researchers thought that effective leaders must
have certain qualities that set them apart from
ineffective leaders and from people who never
become leaders.

The Trait Theories of

Leadership (con)
However, researchers werent able to identify a set
of traits that would always differentiate a leader
from a non leaderthat is, a set of consistent
and unique traits that would apply universally to
all effective leaders, no matter what organization
they led.

The Behavioral Theories of

Leadership
This lack of a consistent relationship between leader
traits and leader effectiveness led researchers to shift
their attention away from traits and to search for new
explanation for effective leadership. Rather than
focusing on what leaders are like (the traits they
possess), researchers turned their attention to what
effective leaders actually do in other words, to the
behaviors that allow effective leaders to influence
their subordinates to achieve organizational goals.

The Behavioral Theories of

Leadership (con)
Ohio State Studies
The most comprehensive behavioral theory began at
Ohio State University. Beginning with more than 1,000
dimensions, the researchers narrowed the list down to
two basic kinds of leader behaviors that allow
effective leaders to influence their subordinates:

1.Initiating Structure
2.Consideration Structure

Ohio State Studies

1.Initiating Structure
Behavior that managers engage in to ensure that work
gets done, subordinates perform their job acceptably,
and the organization is effective and efficient.
For example, a leader who is characterized as high in
initiating structure assigns group members to particular
tasks, expects workers to maintain definite standards of
performance, and emphasizes meeting deadlines.

Ohio State Studies (con)

2. Consideration Structure
Behavior indicating that a manger trusts, respects,
and cares about subordinates.
A

leader

who

is

high

in

consideration

helps

employees with personal problems, is friendly and

approachable, and treats all employees as equals.

Ohio State Studies (con)

However, the Ohio State studies ultimately suggested
that the relationship between performance of initiating
and consideration structures behaviors and leaders
effectiveness is not clear cut. Some leaders are
effective even when they do not perform initiating or
consideration structures behaviors, and some leaders
are ineffective even when they do perform both kinds
of behaviors. Like the trait theories of leadership, the
behavior theories alone cannot explain leader
effectiveness. Realizing this, researchers presented
new theories that focused not only on the leader
(leaders traits) and what he does (leaders behavior)
but also on the situation in which leadership occurs.

Contingency Leadership
Theories
According to contingency theories, whether or
not

a manger is an effective leader is the

result of the interplay between:

1.What the manager is like (Managers Trait),
2.What he or she does (Managers Behavior), and
3.The situation in which leadership takes place.

I- Fiedlers Contingency
Model
Fiedlers contingency model helps explain why a manager
may be an effective leader in one situation and ineffective
in another; it also suggest which kinds of manager are
likely to be most effective in which situations.
Fiedler proposed that a key factor in leadership success was
an individuals basic leadership style, which could be
categorized
oriented.

as

either

relationship

oriented

or

task

Fiedlers Contingency
Model (con)

a) Relationship Oriented Leaders

Leaders whose primary concern is to develop good
relationships with their subordinates. This does not
mean, however, that the job does not get done
when relationship oriented leaders are at the helm.
b) Task Oriented Leaders

Leaders whose primary concern is to ensure that

subordinates perform at a high level and making
sure that the job gets done.

Fiedlers Contingency
Model
(con)
Fiedler assumed a persons leadership

style was

fixed regardless of the situation. With this in

mind,

Fiedler

identified

three

situational

characteristics that are important determinants

of how favorable a situation is for leading:
1)Leader-Member Relations
2)Task Structure
3)Position Power

Fiedlers Contingency
Model (con)

1) Leader-Member Relations

The first situational characteristic that Fiedler described as the

degree of confidence, trust, and respect employees had for their
leader; rated as either good or poor.

2) Task Structure
The second situational characteristic that Fiedler described as the
degree to which job assignments were formalized and structured;
rated as either high or low.

3)

Position Power

The third situational characteristic that Fiedler described as the

degree of influence a leader had over activities such as hiring,
firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases; rated as either
strong or weak.

Fiedlers Contingency
Model (con)

By taking all possible combinations of good and

poor leader-member relations, high and low
task structure, and strong and weak position
power,

Fiedler

identified

eight

leadership

situations, which vary in their favorability for

leading.

Fiedlers Contingency
Model (con)

Once Fiedler had described the leader variables and

the situational variables, he could define the
specific contingencies for leadership effectiveness.
He concluded that task-oriented leaders performed
better in very favorable and in very unfavorable
situations (IV, V, VI,VII).

On the other hand,

relationship-oriented leaders performed better in

moderately favorable situations (I, II,III, VIII).

Fiedlers Contingency
Model (con)

According to Fiedler, leader style (behavior) is an

enduring characteristic that managers cannot change
!!! This suggest that, in order to be effective,
managers need to be placed in leadership situations
that fit their style or situations need to be changed to
suit the manager. Situations can be changed, for
example, by giving a manager more position power or
taking steps to increase task structure such as by
clarifying goals.

II- Path-Goal Theory

The path-goal theory is a contingency model because it proposes that
the steps that managers should take to motivate subordinates depend
on both: (a) the nature of the subordinates and (b) the type of work
they do.
The principle of path-goal theory is that effective leaders motivates
subordinates to achieve organizational goals by: (1) clearly identifying
the outcomes* that subordinates are trying to obtain from their jobs
and the organization, (2) rewarding subordinates with these outcomes
for high performance and the attainment of work goals, and (3)
clarifying for subordinates the paths leading to the attainment of work
goals.

Path-Goal Theory (con)

Path - goal theory identified four kinds of behaviors that
leaders can engage in to motivate subordinates:
1.A directive behavior lets subordinates know whats
expected of them, schedules work to be done, and gives
specific guidance on how to accomplish tasks.
2.A participative behavior consults with group members
and uses their suggestions before making a decision.
3.A supportive behavior shows concern for the needs of
followers and is friendly.
4.An achievement-oriented behavior sets challenging
goals and expects followers to perform at their highest
level.

Path-Goal Theory (con)

In contrast to Fiedlers view that a leader couldnt change his or
her behavior, the path- goal theory assumed that leaders are
flexible and can display any or of these four leadership styles
depending on the nature of the subordinates and the type of
work they do:
When tasks are ambiguous and followers arent sure what to
do, directive behavior leads to greater satisfaction.
When subordinates are performing stressful tasks, supportive
behavior results in high employee performance and
satisfaction.

Path-Goal Theory (con)

When subordinates support of a decision is required,
participative behavior can be particularly effective.
When highly capable subordinates are bored from having
too few challenges, achievement-oriented behavior
can be particularly effective, but it might backfire if used
with subordinates who are already pushed to their limits.

Path-Goal Leadership Model

Employee
Employee
Contingencies
Contingencies
Leader
Leader
Behaviors
Behaviors

Leader
Leader
Effectiveness
Effectiveness

Directive
Directive
Supportive
Supportive

Employee
Employee
motivation
motivation
Employee
Employee
satisfaction
satisfaction
Acceptance
Acceptance of
of
leader
leader

Participative
Participative
AchievementAchievementoriented
oriented
Environmental
Environmental
Contingencies
Contingencies

III- The Leader Substitutes

Theory
The leader substitutes model is a contingency model

because it suggests that in some situations leadership is

unnecessary.
The leader substitutes model suggest that under certain

conditions managers do not have to play a leadership rolethat members of an organization sometimes can perform
highly without a manager exerting influence over them.

The Leader Substitutes Theory

(con)
The characteristics of the situation or context such as
the extent to which the work is interesting and enjoyable
also can be substitutes. When work is interesting and
enjoyable, subordinates do not need to be persuaded into
performing because performing is rewarding in its own
right.

Similarly,

when

managers

empower

their

subordinates or use self managed work teams, the need

for leadership influence from a manager is decreased
because team members manage themselves.

The Leader Substitutes Theory

(con)
Substitutes

for

leadership

can

increase

organizational efficiency and effectiveness because

they free up some managers valuable time and
allow managers to focus their efforts on discovering
new ways to improve organizational effectiveness.

Contemporary Views of
Leadership
Contemporary views of leadership include:
1.Transformational Leadership
2.Transactional Leadership

Transformational
Leadership
An exciting new kind of leadership

is sweeping the globe.

Transformational leadership occurs when managers change

(or transform) their subordinates in three important ways:
1. Transformational managers make subordinates aware of how
important their jobs are for the organization and how
necessary it is for them to perform those jobs as best they can
so that the organization can attain its goals.
2. Transformational managers make their subordinates aware of
the subordinates own needs for personal growth, development
and accomplishment.

Transformational
Leadership (con)

3. Transformational managers motivate their subordinates

to work for the good of the organization as a whole, not
just for their personal gain or benefit.
When managers transform their subordinates in these
three ways, subordinates trust the manager, are highly
motivated, and help the organization achieve its goals.

Transactional Leadership
Transformational

leadership

is

often

contrasted

with

transactional leadership. Transactional leadership involves

managers using their reward and intimidating power to
encourage high performance. When managers reward high
performers,

punish

low

performers,

and

motivates

subordinates by reinforcing desired behaviors and punishing

undesired ones, they are engage in transactional leadership.
Managers who effectively influence their subordinates
to achieve goals yet do not seem to be making the kind
of dramatic changes that are part of transformational
leadership are engaging in transactional leadership.