LEADERSHIP

Definition
Leadership is defined as influence, the art or process of influencing people so that
they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals.
- Leaders act to help a group attain objectives through the maximum application
of its capabilities.
- Leaders must instill values – whether it be concern for quality, honesty and
calculated risk taking or for employees and customers.

Importance of Leadership
1. Aid to authority
2. Motive power to group efforts
3. Basis for co operation
4. Integration of Formal and Informal Organization.

LEADERSHIP STYLES
The leadership style we will discuss here are:
a) Autocratic style
b) Democratic Style
c) Laissez Faire Style

a) Autocratic style
Manager retains as much power and decision-making authority as possible. The manager
does not consult employees, nor are they allowed to give any input. Employees are
expected to obey orders without receiving any explanations. The motivation environment is
produced by creating a structured set of rewards and punishments.

Autocratic leadership is a classical leadership style with the following characteristics:

• Manager seeks to make as many decisions as possible

• Manager seeks to have the most authority and control in decision making
• Manager seeks to retain responsibility rather than utilize complete delegation
• Consultation with other colleagues in minimal and decision making becomes a solitary
process

• Managers are less concerned with investing their own leadership development, and
prefer to simply work on the task at hand.

Advantages
Reduced stress due to increased control
A more productive group ‘while the leader is watching’
Improved logistics of operations
Faster decision making

Disadvantages
Short-termistic approach to management.
Manager perceived as having poor leadership skills
Increased workload for the manager
People dislike being ordered around
Teams become dependent upon their leader

b) Democratic Style
Democratic Leadership is the leadership style that promotes the sharing of
responsibility, the exercise of delegation and continual consultation.

The style has the following characteristics:

• Manager seeks consultation on all major issues and decisions.

• Manager effectively delegate tasks to subordinates and give them full control and
responsibility for those tasks.

• Manager welcomes feedback on the results of intiatives and the work environment.
• Manager encourages others to become leaders and be involved in leadership
development.

Advantages
Positive work environment
Successful initiatives
 Creative thinking
Reduction of friction and office politics
Reduced employee turnover

Disadvantages
Takes long time to take decisions
Danger of pseudo participation
Like the other styles, the democratic style is not always appropriate. It is most successful
when used with highly skilled or experienced employees or when implementing
operational changes or resolving individual or group problems.

c) Laissez-Faire Style
This French phrase means “leave it be” and is used to describe a leader who leaves
his/her colleagues to get on with their work. The style is largely a "hands off" view that tends
to minimize the amount of direction and face time required.

Advantages

• No work for the leader

• Frustration may force others into leadership roles
• Allows the visionary worker the opportunity to do what they want, free from interference
• Empowers the group

Disadvantages
It makes employees feel insecure at the unavailability of a manager.
The manager cannot provide regular feedback to let employees know how well they
are doing.
Managers are unable to thank employees for their good work.
The manager doesn’t understand his or her responsibilities and is hoping the
employees can cover for him or her.
LEADERSHIP THEORIES
The various leadership theories are

a) Great Man Theory:

Assumptions

• Leaders are born and not made.

• Great leaders will arise when there is a great need.

Description
Early research on leadership was based on the study of people who were already great
leaders. These people were often from the aristocracy, as few from lower classes had the
opportunity to lead. This contributed to the notion that leadership had something to do with
breeding.
The idea of the Great Man also strayed into the mythic domain, with notions that in times of
need, a Great Man would arise, almost by magic. This was easy to verify, by pointing to
people such as Eisenhower and Churchill, let alone those further back along the timeline,
even to Jesus, Moses, Mohammed and the Buddah.

Discussion
Gender issues were not on the table when the 'Great Man' theory was proposed. Most
leaders were male and the thought of a Great Woman was generally in areas other than
leadership. Most researchers were also male, and concerns about androcentric bias were a
long way from being realized.

b) Trait Theory:
Assumptions

• People are born with inherited traits.

• Some traits are particularly suited to leadership.
• People who make good leaders have the right (or sufficient) combination of traits.
Description
Early research on leadership was based on the psychological focus of the day, which was
of people having inherited characteristics or traits. Attention was thus put on discovering
these traits, often by studying successful leaders, but with the underlying assumption that if
other people could also be found with these traits, then they, too, could also become great
leaders.

McCall and Lombardo (1983) researched both success and failure identified four primary
traits by which leaders could succeed or 'derail':
Emotional stability and composure: Calm, confident and predictable, particularly when
under stress.
Admitting error: Owning up to mistakes, rather than putting energy into covering up.
Good interpersonal skills: able to communicate and persuade others without resort to
negative or coercive tactics.
Intellectual breadth: Able to understand a wide range of areas, rather than having a narrow
(and narrow-minded) area of expertise.

c) Behavioral Theory:
Assumptions

• Leaders can be made, rather than are born.

• Successful leadership is based in definable, learnable behavior.

Description
Behavioral theories of leadership do not seek inborn traits or capabilities. Rather, they look
at what leaders actually do.
If success can be defined in terms of describable actions, then it should be relatively easy
for other people to act in the same way. This is easier to teach and learn then to adopt the
more ephemeral 'traits' or 'capabilities'.

d) Participative Leadership:
Assumptions

• Involvement in decision-making improves the understanding of the issues involved

by those who must carry out the decisions.

• People are more committed to actions where they have involved in the relevant
decisionmaking.

• People are less competitive and more collaborative when they are working on joint
goals.
 • When people make decisions together, the social commitment to one another is
greater and thus increases their commitment to the decision.

• Several people deciding together make better decisions than one person alone.

Description
A Participative Leader, rather than taking autocratic decisions, seeks to involve other people
in the process, possibly including subordinates, peers, superiors and other stakeholders.
Often, however, as it is within the managers' whim to give or deny control to his or her
subordinates, most participative activity is within the immediate team. The question of how
much influence others are given thus may vary on the manager's preferences and beliefs,
and a whole spectrum of participation is possible

e) Situational Leadership:
Assumptions

• The best action of the leader depends on a range of situational factors.

Description
When a decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single preferred
style. In practice, as they say, things are not that simple.
Factors that affect situational decisions include motivation and capability of followers. This,
in turn, is affected by factors within the particular situation. The relationship between
followers and the leader may be another factor that affects leader behavior as much as it
does follower behavior.
The leaders' perception of the follower and the situation will affect what they do rather than
the truth of the situation. The leader's perception of themselves and other factors such as
stress and mood will also modify the leaders' behavior.

f) Contingency Theory:
Assumptions

• The leader's ability to lead is contingent upon various situational factors, including
the leader's preferred style, the capabilities and behaviors of followers and also
various other situational factors.
Description
Contingency theories are a class of behavioral theory that contend that there is no one best
way of leading and that a leadership style that is effective in some situations may not be
successful in others.
An effect of this is that leaders who are very effective at one place and time may become
unsuccessful either when transplanted to another situation or when the factors around them
change.
Contingency theory is similar to situational theory in that there is an assumption of no
simple one right way. The main difference is that situational theory tends to focus more on
the behaviors that the leader should adopt, given situational factors (often about follower
behavior), whereas contingency theory takes a broader view that includes contingent
factors about leader capability and other variables within the situation.

g) Transactional Leadership:
Assumptions

• People are motivated by reward and punishment.

• Social systems work best with a clear chain of command.
• When people have agreed to do a job, a part of the deal is that they cede all
authority to their manager.

• The prime purpose of a subordinate is to do what their manager tells them to do.

Description
The transactional leader works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is
required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they get for following orders.
Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal
systems of discipline are usually in place.

The early stage of Transactional Leadership is in negotiating the contract whereby the
subordinate is given a salary and other benefits, and the company (and by implication the
subordinate's manager) gets authority over the subordinate.

When the Transactional Leader allocates work to a subordinate, they are considered to be
fully responsible for it, whether or not they have the resources or capability to carry it out.
When things go wrong, then the subordinate is considered to be personally at fault, and is
punished for their failure (just as they are rewarded for succeeding).
h)Transformational Leadership:
Assumptions

• People will follow a person who inspires them.

• A person with vision and passion can achieve great things.
• The way to get things done is by injecting enthusiasm and energy.

Description
Working for a Transformational Leader can be a wonderful and uplifting experience. They
put passion and energy into everything. They care about you and want you to succeed.
Transformational Leaders are often charismatic, but are not as narcissistic as pure
Charismatic Leaders, who succeed through a belief in themselves rather than a belief in
others.
One of the traps of Transformational Leadership is that passion and confidence can easily
be mistaken for truth and reality.
Transformational Leaders, by definition, seek to transform. When the organization does not
need transforming and people are happy as they are, then such a leader will be frustrated.
Like wartime leaders, however, given the right situation they come into their own and can
be personally responsible for saving entire companies.