which leadership styles breed the most productive culture?
DESCRIPTION
Conexus Consulting has gathered eight years of data from in-depth surveys on a wide variety of clients to find out the answer to this question.TRANSCRIPT
Which Leadership Styles Breed the Most Productive Culture?
Research study by Conexus Consulting
The research study background
Conexus Consulting has developed the following presentation based on data collected from a range of their clients across the period 2004 – 2011 in the format of both Organisational Culture Inventory surveys and Organisational Effectiveness Inventory surveys, as developed by Human Synergistics, an independent research and analysis body.
More specifically, 4679 participants completed the Organisational Culture Inventory survey and 4849 participants completed the Organisational Effectiveness Inventory survey between 2004 – 2011. A significant pool to draw our conclusions from.
The results4324 participants responded as to how they viewed the leadership styles and therefore culture of their organisation. The summary of all results collected show (as per the circumplex below) that the most common form of organisation leadership, as perceived by the employee, is ‘Aggressive/Defensive’ in nature.
The resultsIn comparison, participants indicated that their preferred leadership style would be actually be more ‘Constructive’ in nature (as shown in the circumplex below).
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Go
al A
ccepta
nce
Em
po
we
rme
nt
Do
wn
wa
rd C
om
mu
nica
tion
Org
an
izatio
na
l Ba
ses o
f Po
we
r*
Cu
stom
er S
ervice
Fo
cus
Pa
rticipa
tive G
oal S
ettin
g
Re
spe
ct for M
em
be
rs
Up
wa
rd C
om
mun
icatio
n
Co
mm
un
icatio
n fo
r Le
arn
ing
Distrib
utio
n o
f Influ
ence
*
Tra
inin
g a
nd D
eve
lop
me
nt
Go
al C
larity
Ta
sk Ide
ntity
Articu
latio
n o
f Missio
n
Go
al D
ifficulty
Pe
rsona
l Ba
ses o
f Po
we
r
Inte
rdep
end
ence
Au
ton
om
y
Va
riety
Se
lectio
n a
nd
Pla
cem
en
t
Inte
ractio
n F
acilita
tion
Em
plo
yee In
volve
me
nt
Ta
sk Fa
cilitatio
n
To
tal In
flue
nce
Fe
edb
ack
Fa
irne
ss of A
pp
raisa
ls
Use
of R
ew
ard
s
Use
of P
un
ishm
en
t*
Sig
nifica
nce
Co
nsid
era
tion
Go
al E
mp
hasis
UndesirableGaps
DesirableGaps
HistoricalAverage
The conclusionsThe reasons for the gap between ‘actual’ and ‘preferred’ leadership as highlighted by 7480 participants were as follows:
*Factors contributing to a negative gap are indicated in the maroon bars whilst factors contributing to a positive gap are indicated in the lilac bars
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Inte
ntio
n to
Sta
y
Ro
le C
onflict*
Stre
ss*
Exte
rna
lA
da
pta
bility
Job
Inse
curity*
Intra
-Un
itT
ea
mw
ork a
nd
Co
op
era
tion
Sa
tisfactio
n
Mo
tivatio
n
Inte
r-Un
itC
oo
rdin
atio
n
Org
an
izatio
na
l-L
eve
l Qu
ality
De
pa
rtme
nt-
Le
vel Q
ua
lity
Ro
le C
larity
UndesirableGaps
DesirableGaps
HistoricalAverage
The conclusionsThe outcomes, as reported by the same 7480 participants, of the ‘actual’ and ‘undesired’ leadership included:
*Factors contributing to a negative gap are indicated in the maroon bars whilst factors contributing to a positive gap are indicated in the lilac bars
The conclusionsAll participants were then asked to respond to ‘how satisfied are you with being a member of your organisation?’
Leadership of those who responded 'not at all' or 'to
a slight extent' N = 619
Leadership of those who responded 'to a great
extent' or 'to a very great extent' N = 2541
Leadership of those who responded 'to a moderate
extent' N = 1148
This response proves that a more balanced style of leadership ensures employee satisfaction.
The conclusionsAll participants were then asked ‘to what extent do you plan to be apart of this organisation two years from now?’
Leadership of those who responded 'not at all' or 'to
a slight extent' N = 619
Leadership of those who responded 'to a moderate
extent' N = 1148
Leadership of those who responded 'to a great
extent' or 'to a very great extent' N = 2541
If you want to retain good people (your most expensive asset to replace) you need to use leadership styles that create a satisfactory environment for your employees.
The AnalysisOrganisations which feature a more ‘constructive’ style of leadership will result in a more productive culture; one with low turnover, quality work, due to strong motivation, satisfaction and role clarity.