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Leadership
11.1 Introduction
Who would you consider as a leader? Think of leaders you know, what
makes them a leader?
A leader emerges from among a group of people. The leader should have
an ability to encourage people to do what s/he wants them to do. So, a
leader can influence the behaviour of others (followers) towards the
achievement of goals. A leader inspires assistance, loyalty and
unquestioning obedience from followers. In leadership literature what is
considered is the action because leaders are judged on what they do.
Leadership is a behavioral skill and can be learned. The best way to learn to
be a leader is by gaining experience. If you accept responsibilities, you will
build up your confidence. Both successes and failures provide valuable
experience to you and give you the confidence to attend to more difficult
tasks. If you are ready to accept challenges and find best solutions, then
others would accept you as the leader.
In some situations the leader emerges naturally, particularly where tasks are
of a technical nature. In such a situation, an expert may arise to solve the
problem and disappear when the task is over. I’m sure you have
experienced this. Recall school days. At a time to decorate a hall, the one
with artistic skills would have become automatically the leader and directed
others what to do and how to do. When the function was over the leader
disappeared.
Managers Leaders
Dealing with complexity Coping with change
Leaders Managers
Innovate Administer
Develop Maintain
Inspire Control
Long-term view Short-term view
Ask what and why? Ask how and when?
Originate Imitate
Ask Tell
Do the right thing Do things right
From the above explanation it is clear that though similarities exist, there
is a visible difference between a leader and a manager. A manager has a
position and performs according to the work assigned to him. He/she may
or may not be effective in influencing subordinates or team members to
set and achieve goals. But the leader is a person who can influence the
behaviour of others to achieve goals without having to rely on powers. He
is accepted by others as a leader.
Though these are the common features of a leader, it is not correct to treat
these characteristics as sufficient to explain an efficient leader, because no
two leaders are exactly alike. During the period 1940’s -1960’s researches
concentrated on studying the behavior of leaders. Let us look at the
behavioral theories.
Try self-assessment 1
Activity 11.1
1. Identify a person who you would describe as an effective leader. Make
a list of personal characteristics of that leader.
2. Identify another effective leader and repeat the process and compare
the two lists to identify similarities and differences.
• Leadership Style
The University of Iowa studies found out three leadership styles according
to the degree which the leader shares decision-making authority with
followers (subordinates.)
Exhibit 11.1 shows these different styles. They are Autocratic style,
Democratic (Participative) style and Laissez-Faire style. Upper part of the
exhibit 11.1 shows the authority of decision making. You will notice that
this decision making authority is high in Autocratic style. In Participative
style both leader and subordinates have authority, while in Laissez-Faire
Style subordinates have the authority of decision making.
Exhibit 11.1
Leadership Style and the Decision Making Authority
Autocratic style
A leader makes decisions without reference to anyone else. Authority is
centralized and followers’ participation is limited. A high degree of
dependency on the leader is the result. This style can create de-
motivation and unfriendliness of staff.
However, this style may be valuable in some types of business where
decisions need to be taken quickly with expertise knowledge.
Laissez-Faire
Though there are 81 (9x9) styles according to the grid, emphasis was on
five styles. (1,1); (1.9); (5.5);(9.1); and (9.9) as shown in exhibit 11.2.
Exhibit 11.2
Leadership Grid
1.9 9.9
9
7
Concern for People
6
5.5
5
2
1.1 9.1
1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Concern for production
Position Power Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak
Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed this theory and focused on
followers’ readiness. They argue that successful leadership is achieved by
selecting the right leadership style, which is dependent on the level of the
followers’ readiness. Readiness is the ability and willingness of people to
carry out a specific task. This also considers dimensions of task and
relationship behaviour as either High or Low and then combining them into
four specific leadership styles. These are the stages that move from i-iv
Example
Mr. Silva is the recently appointed Head of the Painting Division of
Zigma Pvt ltd. He found that painting services were inefficient and
costly. So, Silva completely reorganized the department, designed a
new scheduling procedure, and redefined the expected standards of
performance. He didn’t seek any input from his subordinates. Silva
needed to be strict about getting painters to do a good job.
As time passed, Silva relaxed his style and was less demanding. He
allocated some responsibilities to two crew leaders who reported to
him, but always stayed in close touch with each of the employees. On
a weekly basis, Silva used to take a small group of workers to the local
sports bar for tea. He loved to chat with the employees.
In this example you must have noticed the way Mr. Silva changed his
leadership style. At the beginning, he maintained the Telling Style. He gave
orders and didn’t seek comments from subordinates. But gradually he
changed the style. Selling, Participating, and Delegating. (Try to understand
this changing leadership styles by yourself relating to your experience. This
experience you need not get from a business. Perhaps things you learned
from your parents or elders. Recall the different stages of getting
responsibilities. If you had played a role of leader recall how you passed
responsibilities to your subordinates and how you changed your leadership
style.)
This theory was developed by Robert House and Martin Evans. It is based on
the elements of expectancy theory of motivation. They argued that it is the
leader’s job to assist followers in attaining their goals and to provide the
direction needed to ensure that their goals are compatible with the overall
objectives. Four leadership behaviours have been identified.
- Directive leader: Gives specific guidance to followers to accomplish
task
- Supportive leader: Friendly and concerned about the needs of the
followers
- Participative leader: Gets suggestions of followers in making decisions
- Achievement- oriented leader: Sets challenging goals and expects
followers to achieve them in the highest possible manner.
They suggest that leaders are flexible and display any of these styles
or a combination of styles according to the situation. Style may be
dependent on various situational factors such as risk, type of business,
organizational culture and nature of the task.
This theory is more dynamic. The majority of the research findings supports
the logic behind the theory and suggests that the path-goal theory is a fairly
good description of the leadership process.
Try self-assessment 3
More view effective team leadership as the primary factor for team success
and ineffective leadership as a major obstacle to team effectiveness.
It is necessary not only to understand the functions that leaders perform,
but the complexity involved in performing these functions and its effect on
team performance.
i. Organizational barriers
Many studies have pointed out that women possess the behavioral skills and
inner qualities that qualify them for effective leadership; they remained
underrepresented in such positions. To make better use of the talent of high
potential women, organizations must identify, develop and support potential
women leaders. On the other hand, women need to develop their
competence and build partnerships both within and beyond their
organizations.
Activity:11.2
Try self-assessment 4
Review questions
1.Can you think of leader behaviour other than what we have discussed in this
lesson? If so, clarify them.
2.Do male and female leaders differ in their behaviour and effectiveness in
organizations? Justify your answer with real examples.
Standard Chartered empowers its female leaders (Financial Times- Sunday June
15, 2008.