This is probably the first post in this blog. Posted on 8 January 2012.
As on 4 March 2017, there are 212 posts in this blog.
The content is to be further enriched from research perspective. Presently it still reflects practice perspective.
Leadership Styles, Activities, Roles and Skills
Styles is a more popular concept. It can be said it started from the
conception of theory X and theory Y. Theory X represents authoritarian
style and theory Y represents an enlightened, humanistic style. Roles
and activities are what leaders do and skills refer to things which make
leaders effective.
Leadership Styles
Blake and Mouton’s classic managerial grid identifies leadership styles
of practicing managers. The grid has two dimensions “concern for the
people along the vertical axis and “concern for the task” along the
horizontal axis. Each axis is divided into nine parts. The (1,1) manager
has minimum concern for people and task. The opposite if the (9,9)
manager. This individual has maximum concern for both people and task. A
manager’s current position can be determined by a questionnaire
developed by Blake and Moulton. Managers can be sensitized to the need
for moving to (9,9) style.
(Robert Blake and Jane S. Mouton, “Should You Teach There’s only One Best Way to Manage?” Training HRD, April 1978, p. 24.)
Another approach to identifying leadership styles was formulated by
Hersey and Blanchard. They also use two dimensions, task style and
relationship style. They divide each axis into two parts, low and high
and identify four styles.
1. Telling style: high task, low relationship
2. Selling style: high task, high relationship
3. Participation style: low task, high relationship
4. Delegating style: low task, low relationship
A situation variable maturity of the follower is brought into the model
by Hersey and Blanchard. The level of maturity is defined three
criteria:
1. Degree of achievement motivation of the follower.
2. Willingness to take on responsibility.
3. Amount of education and/or experience.
The maturity level is defined at four levels.
When maturity is very low, telling style is appropriate.
When maturity is low, selling style is to be used.
When maturity is high, participating style, is the preferred one.
When maturity is very high, delegation is the best style.
There is a questionnaire instrument that provides various situations
depicting the maturity of the followers and managers asked to give their
responses in terms of managerial actions. Then managers are made aware
of their situation and style understanding.
Charismatic and transformational leadership theories also are included
in leadership styles. House and Podsakoff identified the following
activities as important for leaders and they have drawn these items from
modern leadership theories like charismatic and transformational
leadership.
1. Vision: Great leaders articulate an ideological vision (better
future) congruent with deeply held values of followers so that they feel
they have a moral right for the envisaged future.
2. Passion and self-sacrifice: Great leaders have passion for the vision
and mission. They have a rational argument for the benefits, they show
positive emotions in connection with mission and vision and they engage
in outstanding or extraordinary behavior and make self-sacrifices in the
interest of vision and mission.
3. Confidence, determination and persistence: Great leaders show high
degree of faith in their vision and strategy. Determination and
persistence are exhibited because of the confidence and moral
conviction.
4. Image building: Great leaders realize that they must be perceived as competent, credible and trustworthy.
5. Role modeling: Leaders must be role models, meaning their behavior
must be in line with expected behavior to achieve the vision. Great
leaders demonstrate the role model leadership.
6. External representation: Outstanding leaders represent their
organization to outsiders in a skillful way. It means the followers are
very happy with the external communications of their leader.
7. Expectations of and confidence in followers: Great leaders have
strong confidence in their followers' potential and ability to attain
the high performance targets set in line with the vision.
8. Selective motive arousal: Great leaders have to identify the motives
relevant to the accomplishment of the vision and mission and arouse
those motives.
9. Frame alignment: A set of followers' interests, values, and beliefs
must have alignment with the activities proposed by the leader. This
process is frame alignment and outstanding leaders do their homework in
accomplishing this frame alignment.
10. Inspirational communication: Vivid stories, slogans, symbols,
rituals and ceremonies are used in communication to inspire the
followers to adhere to the mission and engage in activities to attain
the vision.
(
Reference for House and Podsakoff )
Roles of Leadership
Henry Mitzberg’s research on what leaders do resulted in a description of roles of managers.
The roles are described under three heads
Interpersonal Roles: Figurehead, Leader, Liaison
Informational Roles: Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson
Decisional Roles: Entrepreneur, Disturbance handler, Resource allocator, Negotiator
Activities of Leaders
The research studies of Fred Luthans along with his colleagues on what
the managers are doing in their day-to-day work resulted in a listing of
activities of leaders.
Fred Luthans and Lockwook came out with a list of activities that
managers do: Planning/coordinating, staffing, training/developing,
decision making/problem solving, processing paper work, exchanging
routine information, monitoring/controlling performance,
motivating/reinforcing, disciplining/punishing, interacting with
outsiders, managing conflict, socializing/politicking. All these are
discussed in earlier management works also. They are grouped into the
following four categories:
Routine Communication: Exchanging information, handling paper work
Traditional management: Planning, Decision making, Controlling
Networking: Interacting with outsiders, Socializing/Politicking
Human resource management: Motivating/Reinforcing, Disciplinary/Punishing, Managing conflict, Staffing, Training/Developing
Managerial Skills
Whetten and Cameron provided an empirical derivation of effective
leadership skills. They are based on an interview study of 400 highly
effective managers. 10 skills identified are:
1. Verbal
communication (including listening)
2. Managing time and
stress
3. Managing individual decisions
4. Recognizing, defining, and solving problems
5.
Motivating and influencing others
6. Delegating
7.
Setting goals and articulating a vision
8.
Self awareness
9. Team building
10.
Managing conflict
Whetton and Cameron highlighted three things in relation to these
skills. The skills are behaviors and not traits. The skills sets have
conflicting demands and all are not either soft or hard. Effective
leaders are multiskilled people and limitations in skills do limit
effectiveness.
This list can be compared with another list of five skills and we can see commonality among them:
1. Cultural flexibility 2. Communication skills 3. Creativity 4. HRD skills 5. Self-management of learning
Leadership Development by Organizations
Zand identified three areas to be developed for future leaders in an
organization. They are knowledge required for the tasks, ability and
behavior to develop trust in followers and acquisition and use of
power.
A study of military cadets indicated that physical fitness, prior
influence experiences, and great self-esteem were predictive of
effectiveness in later leadership roles.
Luthans points out that the most recent mainstream approach to
leadership development is centered on competencies. Bernardin, in his
human resource management textbook also emphasized the importance given to competency modeling in
job analysis and descriptions.
In leadership development, personal growth training that may involve a
combination of psychological exercises and outdoor adventures is being
used. Steven Covey talks of withstanding irritation more and more beyond
the level of tolerance to develop the ability to withstand more
nuisance. It is psychological exercise. The adventure exercises aim at
developing in the participants a sense and ability to take
responsibility for their own lives and thereby train them to take
responsibility for their organizations.
References
Fred Luthans, Organizational Behavior, 9th Edition.
