Leadership Style. Source: Blake and McCanse (1991), adapted from Blake and Mouton (1985)

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1 Leadership Style Leadership Style emphasises the behaviour of the leader rather than his/her personality characteristics. It focuses exclusively on what leaders do and how they act. It includes the actions of leaders towards subordinates in various contexts and explains how leaders combine two kinds of behaviour to influence subordinates in their efforts to reach a goal. This model has been used extensively in organisational settings. The Leadership (Managerial) Grid Source: Blake and McCanse (1991), adapted from Blake and Mouton (1985) Leadership Style focuses on two kinds of behaviour: Task versus Relationship behaviours Blake and Mouton (1960 onwards) developed the Managerial Grid above, later renamed the Leadership Grid, to show how leadership helped organisations to reach their purposes through two factors which must be assessed in tandem: o Concern for Production (achieving the TASK) o Concern for People (achieving the organisational GOALS) The Leadership Grid portrays 5 major leadership styles: o Authority-compliance (9.1) o Country club management (1.9) o Impoverished management (1.1) o Middle-of-the-road (5.5) and o Team management (9.9) It does not provide a set of prescriptions for effective leadership behaviour This approach works not by telling leaders how to behave, but by describing the major components of their behaviour The style approach reminds leaders that their actions towards others occur on a task and relationship level In some situations, leaders need to be more task oriented, whereas in others they need to be more relationship oriented Similarly, some subordinates need leaders who provide a lot of direction, whereas others need leaders who can nurture and support them. 1

2 Situational Leadership Situational Leadership theory implies that different situations demand different kinds of leadership. To be effective, a leader has to evaluate situations and adapt his or her style to the demands of different situations. Situational Leadership model Source: based on Hersey and Blanchard (1997) The Situational Leadership model was developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1996a), has been subjected to a number of refinements and revisions since its inception (Blanchard, Zigarmi and Nelson, 1993; Blanchard, Zigarmi and Zigarmi, 1985; Hersey and Blanchard, 1997, 1988) and used extensively in organisations for leadership development and training Situational Leadership asserts that leaders should change the degree to which they are directive or supportive to meet the changing needs of subordinates, matching their style to the competence and commitment of those subordinates Effective leaders are those who can recognise what employees need and then adapt their own style to meet those needs There is an assumption that employees skills and motivation vary over time over a development continuum Leaders must determine where their subordinates are on this continuum and adapt their leadership style to match the level they are at Their first task is therefore to determine the nature of the situation: o What task are subordinates being asked to perform? o How complex is the task? o Are the subordinate sufficiently skilled to accomplish the task? o Do they have the desire to complete the task once they start? Answers to these questions will help the leader determine which approach to adopt. 2

3 Action Centred Leadership Action Centred Leadership theory provides a framework for the leadership and management of any team, group or organisation. It is a simple model, which makes it easy to remember, apply and adapt to any given situation. The model gains more generality and value by explicitly extending tasks to encompass direction, vision and mission, and strategy. There are three parts to the model: Achieving the Task Building the Team or group Developing Individuals Action Centred Leadership model The theory was developed by John Adair who asserts that good managers and leaders should have full command of the three main areas of the model and should be able to use each of the elements according to the situation Being able to do all these three things and keep the right balance gets results, builds morale, improves quality, develops the teams and productivity and is a mark of a successful manager and leader The Action Centred Leadership model adapts well to the demands of modern business management Leaders and managers need to focus on different areas to achieve different objectives Leaders and managers need to think about the aspects of performance necessary for success in their own situation, and incorporate local relevant factors into the model to create their own interpretation. 3

4 Servant Leadership Servant-Leadership is a concept developed by Robert Greenleaf (1970, 1972, 1977) based on his years of experience in management development at AT&T, and on his wide consultancy and teaching practice. Servant-Leadership is a process, a way of being rather than an activity. It is primarily about the field of leadership. Greenleaf s model was further developed by others, including Liden, Panaccio, Hu and Meuser (in press) whose model is below. A model of Servant Leadership Source: based on Northouse (2013), Liden, Wayne, Zhao and Henderson (2008) and Liden, Panaccio, Hu and Meuser (in press) Servant Leadership is a paradox, an approach to leadership that runs counter to common sense - our everyday image of leadership does not coincide with leaders being servants: leaders influence and servants follow Most academic and non-academic research contributions have been prescriptive (focusing on how Servant Leadership should ideally be), rather than descriptive (focusing on what it actually is in practice) (van Dierendonck, 2011) Servant Leadership focuses on the behaviours leaders should exhibit to put followers first and to support followers personal development. It is concerned with how leaders treat subordinates and the outcomes that are likely to emerge. It works best when leaders are altruistic and have a strong motivation and deep interest in helping others It downplays competition in the organisation and promotes egalitarianism In an ideal world it results in community and societal change Spears (2002) identified ten characteristics of a Servant Leader: 1. Listening 6. Conceptualisation 2. Empathy 7. Foresight 3. Healing 8. Stewardship 4. Awareness 9. Commitment to the growth of people 5. Persuasion 10. Building community Greenleaf s (Greenleaf, 1970, P 15) definition of Servant Leadership (below) is widely accepted: Servant leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant, first to make sure that the other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test is: o Do those served grow as persons? o Do they - while being served - become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? o And what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit, or at least, will they not be further deprived? 4

5 Authentic Leadership Authentic Leadership represents one of the newest areas of leadership research and is still in its formative stage of development, with the first article being published in Walumbwa et al (2008) define Authentic Leadership as: a pattern of leader behaviour that draws upon and promotes both positive psychological capacities and a positive ethical climate, to foster greater self-awareness, an internalised moral perspective, balanced processing of information and relational transparency on the part of leaders working with followers, fostering positive self-development. (p94) A model of Authentic Leadership Source: Northouse (2013) adapted from Luthans, F and Avolio, BJ (2003); Berret-Koehler, 2003 and W L Gardner, B J Avolio, F Luthans, D R May and F O Walumbwa, 2005 Interest in Authentic Leadership increased during a time of societal upheaval and instability in the USA: o The attacks of 9/11 in New York, widespread corporate corruption and a world recession all created a sense of uncertainty and anxiety about leadership o Widespread unethical and ineffective leadership necessitated the need for more humane, constructive leadership that served the common good (Fry and Whittington, 2005; Luthans and Avolio, 2003) o Researchers also felt the need to extend the work of Bass (1990) and Bass and Steidlmeier (1999) (regarding the meaning of authentic transformational leadership) and to create a theoretical framework to explain it. To develop a theory of Authentic Leadership, researchers drew on the fields of leadership, positive organisational scholarship and ethics (Cooper, Scandura and Schriesheim, 2005; Gardner et al, 2005) A major challenge was to define the construct and identify its characteristics. (There is no universal definition that currently exists.) There are practical and theoretical perspectives of Authentic Leadership: o The practical approach provides prescriptions for how to be authentic and how to develop Authentic Leadership o The theoretical approach describes what Authentic Leadership is and accounts for it (from that perspective, it works because leaders demonstrate self-awareness, internalised moral perspective, balanced processing and relational transparency). 5

6 Transformational Leadership Transformational Leadership theory is a broad-based perspective that encompasses many facets and dimensions of the leadership process. It describes how leaders can initiate, develop and carry out significant changes in organisations. A model of Transformational Leadership Source: based on Bass (1985) Transformational leaders set out to empower followers and nurture them in change They attempt to raise consciousness in individuals and get them to transcend their own self-interest for the sake of others To create change, transformational leaders act as role models for their followers They have a highly developed set of moral values and a self-determined sense of identity (Avolio and Gibbons, 1998) They are confident, competent and articulate and they express strong ideas They listen to their followers and are not intolerant of opposing viewpoints A spirit of cooperation often develops between these leaders and their followers followers want to emulate transformational leaders because they learn to trust them and believe in the ideas for which they stand They create a vision, the focal point for Transformational Leadership which gives the leader and the organisation a conceptual map for where the organisation is headed: this gives meaning and clarifies the organisation s identity (Shamir et al, 1993) Transformational leaders become social architects: they make clear the emerging values and norms of the organisation and get involved in the culture of the organisation Transformational leaders are out in front interpreting and shaping for the organisation the shared meanings that exist within them Throughout the process, they are effective in working with people: they build trust and foster collaboration with others, making them feel better about themselves and their contributions to the greater common goal. 6

7 Followership Followership theory is collection of perspectives that reverse the lens of traditional leadership studies by looking at the active role employees or subordinate managers play in influencing their managers or co-creating leadership for the good of the organisation. Carsten et al. (2010) defined followership behaviors as behaviors of individuals acting in relation to a leader(s). In other words, followership behaviors are not about how individuals interact relative to their work (e.g., self-management, self-leadership) or other coworkers (e.g., shared leadership) but relative to those with higher status with respect to leaders. A model of followership schemas Source: Carsten et al. (2010) The term follower is tricky because it signals dependence; that is, it can portray the follower as inactive. However, it has become widely used in recent years. Nearly all managers in organisations may be said to be as much followers as they are leaders It becomes important to understand and practice upwards and sideways leadership or followership, as well as the practices, skills, and understanding of how to receive upwards or sideways influence from other when you are a senior manager (i.e. you might not be used to two-way traffic) This suggests a move from leadership development to followership development in training and education. In the future this might move to a more systemic development of the leadership/followership capacity. Reflective questions: How do you follow your managers/ bosses? How is your boss a follower? How do your people follow you? 7

8 Functional Team Leadership Team leadership is fundamentally oriented around the satisfaction of critical team needs. The key assertion is that [the leader s] main job is to do, or get done, whatever is not being adequately handled for group needs (McGrath, 1962, p. 5). The attention is devoted to the study of leadership rather than leaders because multiple individuals are often capable of satisfying team needs. A model of Functional Leadership: Team Leadership Functions and Leadership Sources Transition Phase Action Phase Compose Team Define mission Establish expectations and goals Structure and Plan Train and develop team Sense Making Provide feedback Monitor team Manage team boundaries Challenge team Perform team task Solve problems Provide resources Encourage team selfmanagement Support social climate Source: Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam (2010) 15 key leadership functions that are necessary for team need satisfaction and team effectiveness These functions arise differently according to phases of team performance episodes over time (Marks, Mathieu & Zaccaro, 2001). During the transition phase, teams engage in evaluation or planning activities designed to foster goal attainment. In the action phase, teams perform work activities that directly contribute to goal accomplishment There are a number of potential sources of team leadership that reflect who can perform the 15 team leadership functions. Sources can be distinguished in a 2 2 matrix on the basis of leadership formality (formal versus informal) and locus (internal versus external). Formality of Leadership Formal Informal Locus of leadership Internal Team leader Project manager Shared Emergent External Sponsor Coach Team advisor Mentor Champion Executive coordinator The locus of leadership dimension: internal - the leader is a member of the team and thus engaged in part of the team s task cycle; external - the leader is not a member of the team and thus outside the team s day-to-day activities. Formality of leadership dimension: formal - the responsibility for team performance is formalized in the organization; informal - there is no direct responsibility for a team s leadership and performance. Shared leadership as leadership influence stemming informally from internal team members. These are members of the team's core that do not have formally prescribed leadership roles. 8