Leadership and Followership

Leadership and Followership

Leadership – the process of guiding and directing the behavior of people in the work environment

Formal leadership – the officially sanctioned leadership based on the authority of a formal position

Informal leadership – the unofficial leadership accorded to a person by other members of the organization

Followership – the process of being guided and directed by a leader in the work environment

Kotter: Management and Leadership

Management – Reduces uncertainty– Stabilizes organizations

Leadership– Creates uncertainty– Creates change

Kotter: Management and Leadership

Management Characteristics– Planning and budgeting– Organizing and staffing– Controlling and problem solving

Leadership Characteristics– Setting a direction for the organization– Using communication to align people with

that direction– Motivating people to action through

empowerment and basic need gratification

Leadership vs. ManagementLeaders and managers

– Have distinct personalities– Make different contributions

Both make valuable contributionsEach one’s contributions are different

Leaders agitate for change and new

approaches

Managers advocate for stability and status quo

Leaders and ManagersPersonality Dimension

Manager Leader

Attitudes toward goals

Impersonal, passive, functional; goals arise out of necessity and reality

Personal, active; goals arise from desire and imagination

Conceptions of work

Combines people, ideas, things; seeks moderate risk, enables process

Looks for fresh approaches to old problems; seeks high-risk with high payoffs

Relationships with others

Prefers to work with others; avoids close and intense relationships, avoids conflicts

Comfortable in solitary work; encourages close, intense relationships; not averse to conflict

Sense of self Born once; accepts life as it is; unquestioning

struggles for sense of order questions life

Early Trait Theories

• Distinguished leaders by – Physical attributes– Personality characteristics– Social skills and speech fluency– Intelligence and scholarship– Cooperativeness– Insight

• Early trait theory research resulted in controversial findings

Leadership Behavioral Theory: Lewin Studies

Democratic Style – the leader takes collaborative, reciprocal, interactive actions with followers; followers have high degree of discretionary influence

Laissez-Faire Style – the leader fails to accept the responsibilities of the position; creates chaos in the work environment

Autocratic Style – the leader uses strong, directive, controlling actions to enforce the rules, regulations, activities, and relationships; followers have little discretionary influence

Leadership Behavioral Theory: Ohio State StudiesInitiating Structure –Initiating Structure – leader behavior aimed at defining and organizing work relationships and roles; establishing clear patterns of organization, communication, and ways of getting things done

Consideration –Consideration – leader behavior aimed at nurturing friendly, warm working relationships, as well as encouraging mutual trust and interpersonal respect within the work unit

Leadership Behavioral Theory: Michigan Studies

Production-Oriented LeaderProduction-Oriented Leader• Constant leader influence

• Direct or close supervision• Many written or unwritten rules and

regulations• Focus on getting work done

Employee-Oriented LeaderEmployee-Oriented Leader• Relationship-focused environment

• Less direct/close supervision• Fewer written or unwritten rules and

regulations• Focus on employee concern and needs

Concern for People

Concern for Production

High

HighLow

Low

Leadership Grid Definitions• Leadership Grid – an approach to

understanding a leader’s or manager’s concern for results (production) and concern for people

5,5

• Organization Man (5,5) – a middle-of-the-road leader

Concern for People

Concern for Production

High

HighLow

Low

Leadership Grid Definitions

• Country Club Manager (1,9) – a leader who creates a happy, comfortable work environment 1,9

9,1

• Authority Compliance Manager (9,1) – a leader who emphasizes efficient production

Concern for People

Concern for Production

High

HighLow

Low

Leadership Grid Definitions

• Impoverished Manager (1,1) – a leader who exerts just enough effort to get by

1,1

9,9

• Team Manager (9,9) – a leader who builds a highly productive team of committed people

Leadership Grid Definitions• Paternalistic “father knows best”

Manager (9+9) – a leader who promises reward and threatens punishment

Opportunistic “what’s in it for me” Manager (Opp) – a leader whose style aims to maximize self benefit

Fiedler’s Contingency TheoryFiedler’s Contingency Theory – classifies the leaders need structure and favorableness of the leader’s situation (task oriented or relation ship) Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) – the person a leader has least preferred to work with over his or her career

– Task Structure – degree of clarity, or ambiguity, in the group’s work activities

– Position Power – authority associated with the leader’s formal position in the organization

– Leader–Member Relations – quality of interpersonal relationships among a leader and group members

Vroom-Yetton-Jago Normative Decision Model

Consult individually

Consult group

Decide

Facilitate

Delegate

Use the decision method

most appropriate for a given decision situation

Hersey-Blanchard SituationalLeadership® Model

Leader Behavior

Task Behavior(Directive Behavior)

(Sup

port

ive

Beh

avio

r)R

elat

ions

hip

Beh

avio

r

(low) (high)

(low)

(high) S3Share ideasand facilitateIn decisionmaking

S2Explain decisions and provideopportunityforclarification

S1Provide specific instructions and closely supervise performance

S4Turn over

responsibilityfor decisions

and implementation

Low-RelLow Task

High TaskHigh-Rel

High TaskLow-Rel

High-RelLow Task

Dele

gatin

g

Parti

cipat

ingSelling

Telling

®

High Moderate LowR4 R3 R2 R1

Able and willing or confident

Able but unwilling

or insecure

Unable but willing or confident

Unable and

unwilling or

insecure

LeaderDirected

FollowerDirected

Follower Readiness

Hersey-Blanchard SituationalLeadership® Model

Developments in Leadership Theory

In-groups

• Members similar to leader

• Given greater responsibilities, rewards, attention

• Within leader’s inner circle of communication

• High job satisfaction and organizational commitment, low turnover

• Stress from added responsibilities

Out-Groups

• Managed by formal rules and policies

• Given less attention; fewer rewards

• Outside the leader’s communication circle

• More likely to retaliate against the organization

• Stress from being left out of communication network

Leader–Member Exchange

As a transformational leader, I inspire and

excite followers to high levels of performance.

Developments in Leadership Theory

Transformational LeadershipAs a transactional

leader, I use formal rewards

and punishments.

Charismatic Leadership• Charismatic Leadership – the use, by

a leader, of personal abilities & talents in order to have profound & extraordinary effects on followers

• Charisma – means gift in Greek• Potential for high achievement

and performance• Potential for destructive and

harmful courses of action

Emerging Issues in Leadership

Trust

Emotional Intelligence

Women Leaders

Servant Leadership

Emergence of Women Leaders

Five Types of Followers

Dependent, uncritical thinking

Independent, critical thinking

Passive Active

SOURCE: Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review. From “In Praise of Followers,” by R. E. Kelley, Vol. 66, 1988, p. 145. Copyright © 1988 by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.

Survivors

Yespeople

Effectivefollowers

Sheep

Alienatedfollowers

Dynamic Follower

• Responsible steward of his or her job

• Effective in managing the relationship with the boss

• Practices self-management

Cultural Differences in Leadership

Leadership viewed

differently across cultures

Essential for leaders to

understand other cultures

Leaders need to alter approaches when crossing national boundaries

Guidelines for Leadership• Unique attributes, and talents of each leader

should be appreciated• Organizations should select leaders who

challenge but not destroy the organizational culture

• Leader behaviors should demonstrate a concern for people; it enhances follower well-being

• Different leadership situations call for different leadership talents & behaviors

• Good leaders are likely to be good followers

Leadership and FollowershipCaring

LeadershipDynamic

Followership

go hand-in-hand