WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
• Leadership is the influence that particular individuals exert on the goal achievement of
others in an organizational context
o Effective leadership enhances productivity, innovation, satisfaction, and
commitment to the workforce
• In theory, any organizational member can exert influence on others members
o However, managers, executives, supervisors, and department heads are in better
positions to exert leadership
ARE LEADERS BORN? THE SEARCH FOR LEADERSHIP TRAITS
• Assumption is that those who become leaders and do a good job of it possess a special set
of traits that distinguish them from the masses of followers
Research on Leadership Traits
• Traits are individual characteristics such as physical attributes, intellectual ability, and
personality
• Many traits are not associated with whether people become leaders or how effective they
are, in fact they show how they are associated with leadership
• Agreeableness, extraversion, and openness to experience are related to leadership
behaviours
• Low relationship on intelligence and leadership
• Most effective leaders have high levels of emotional intelligence
o Positively related to job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviour
Limitations of the Trait Approach
• Even if dominance, intelligence, or tallness is associated with effective leadership, we
have few clues about what dominant or intelligent or tall people do to influence others
successfully
• Most crucial problem of the trait approach to leadership is the failure to take into account
the situation in which leadership occurs
• Traits are not sufficient for successful leadership
• Possessing the appropriate traits for leadership makes it possible that certain actions will
be taken and will be successful
LESSONS FROM EMERGENT LEADERSHIP
• Task leader is a leader who is concerned with accomplishing a task by organizing others,
planning strategy, and dividing labour
• Social-emotional leader is a leader who is concerned with reducing tension, patching up
disagreements, settling arguments, and maintaining morale
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• Task and social-emotional leadership are two important functions that must occur in
groups
• Leaders must be concerned with both the social-emotional and task functions
o Organizations should never appoint two formal leaders to a work group
o The formal appointed leader must often be concerned with juggling the demands
of the two distinct roles
THE BEHAVIOUR OF ASSIGNED LEADERS
• Is there a particular leadership style that is more effective than other possible styles?
Consideration and Initiating Structure
• Consideration is the extent to which a leader is approachable and shows personal
concern and respect for employees
o Friendly, egalitarian, expresses appreciation and support, protective of group
welfare
o Related to social-emotional leader
• Initiating structure is the degree to which a leader concentrates on group goal
attainment
o Clearly defines and organizes their role and the role of followers, stresses
standard procedures, schedules the work to be done, and assigns employees to
particular tasks
o Related to task leader
The Consequences of Consideration and Structure
• Consideration and initiating structure contributes positively to employee`s motivation,
job satisfaction, and leader effectiveness
o Consideration more strongly related to follower satisfaction, motivation, and
leadership effectiveness
o Initiating structure more strongly related to job and group performance
• The effects of consideration and initiating structure often depend of characteristics of the
task, the employee, and the setting in which work is performed
Leader Reward and Punishment Behaviours
• Leader reward behaviour is the leader`s use of complements, tangible benefits, and
deserved special treatment
o Employees have a clear picture of what is expected, and experience high levels of
job satisfaction
• Leader punishment behaviour is the leader`s use of reprimands or unfavourable task
assignments and the active withholding of rewards
o Extremely difficult to use effectively, employees might react negatively with
great dissatisfaction
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• Contingent leader reward behaviour is positively related to employee`s perceptions,
attitudes, and behaviour
• Contingent leader punishment behaviour is positively related to employee`s perceptions,
attitudes and behaviour
o Noncontingent punishment behaviour was negatively related
SITUATIONAL THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP
• Situation refers to the setting in which influence attempts to occur
o Setting includes characteristics of employees, the nature of the task, and
characteristics of the organization
Fiedler`s Contingency Theory
• Contingency Theory is Fred Fiedler`s theory that states that the association between
leadership orientation and group effectiveness is contingent on how favourable the
situation is for exerting influence
Leadership Orientation
• Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) is a current or past co-worker with whom a leader
has had a difficult time accomplishing a task
o High LPC means that it was difficult to work with them , but the leader still found
positive qualities in them
o Low LPC means the leader allowed the low-task competence of the LPC to colour
their views of the personal qualities of the LPC
• High LPC leaders are motivated to maintain interpersonal relationships
• Low LPC leaders are motivated to accomplish the task
Situational Favourableness
• Specifies when a particular LPC orientation should contribute most to group
effectiveness
• Factors that affect situational favourableness, in order of importance
o Leader-member relations
! When the relationship between the leader and the group members is good,
the leader is in a favourable situation to exert influence. A poor
relationship should damage the leader`s influence and even lead to
insubordination or sabotage
o Task structure
! When the task at hand is highly structured, the leader should be able to
exert considerable influence on the group
o Position power
! Position power is the formal authority granted to the leader by the
organization to tell others what to do
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