CHAPTER 2.

Leadership

LEADERSHIP
Meaning and Definition of Leadership
Leadership is the factor that helps individuals and groups to achieve the goal. It is the process of influencing and supporting employees or others to work enthusiastically toward achieving the objectives. Leadership is a process of influencing people to direct their efforts towards the attainment of some particular goal or goals. According to Harry Truman, Leadership is the ability to get other people to do what they dont want to do and like it. According to Chester Barnard, Leadership is the ability of a superior to influence the behavior of his subordinates and persuade them to follow a particular course of action. According to Koontz and ODonnell, Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce subordinates to work with confidence and zeal. According to George R. Terry, Leadership is the activity of influencing people to strive willingly for mutual objectives. Thus, leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an individual or group for goal achievement in a given situation.

Characteristics of Leadership
An analysis of the above definitions of leadership reveals that it has the following characteristics: i) Leadership is a Process of Influence: Leadership is a process whose important ingredient is the influence exercised by the leader on group members. A person is said to have an influence over others when they are willing to carry out his wishes and accept his advice, guidance and direction. Successful leaders are able to influence the behavior, attitudes and beliefs of their followers. ii) Leadership is Related to a Situation: When we talk of leadership, it is always related to a particular situation, at a given point of time and under a specific set of circumstances. That means leadership styles will be different under different circumstances. iii) Leadership is the Function of Stimulation: Leadership is the function of motivating people to strive willingly to attain organizational objectives. Leaders are considered successful when they are able to subordinate the individual interests of the employees to the general interests of the organization. iv) Leadership Gives an Experience of Helping Attain the Common Objectives: Under successful leadership, every person in the organization feels that his operation, however minor it may be, is vital to the attainment of organizational objectives. It happens when the manager feels the importance of individuals gives them recognition and tells them about the importance of activities performed by them. v) Employees Must be Satisfied with the Type of Leadership Provided: Only short-term productivity of employees can be increased by pressure and punishment. This approach is not in the long-term interests of the organization. Force generates counter-force which results in a decreased long-term productivity. Longterm interests of the organization are best served when managers allow subordinates to influence their behavior, particularly when subordinates are knowledgeable and competent. The above characteristics of leadership functions hold good in any organization whether it be a political, religious, business or any other organization.

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Nature of Leadership
i) Performance: The performance of a leader directly influences the leader also. If he asks his employees to come on time, he himself has to reach the workplace on time. The workers follow his behavior and functions automatically. The leader's performance itself guides and motivates the employees. Communication: Leadership starts with communication either by deeds or words. The followers can develop themselves by observing and accepting the work or verbal communication of a leader. Although work communication is more effective, verbal communication is also influential. Formal and informal communication, written and oral communication and personal and impersonal communications have their respective influences. So, a leader must use the communication appropriate to a particular situation.

ii)

iii) Influence: A leader must have the capacity to influence others. Without influencing others, a leader cannot function at all. He influences others morally and socially by using strong communication. The outcome of a communication is influence. iv) Power Base: The influence depends on the power base enjoyed by the leaders. There are five bases of power, viz. coercion, reward, legitimate, expert and reference. When a person threatens others to work it is coercion. But, coercive power has no permanent influence. It gives rise to negative feelings, and hostility is developed between the leader and his followers. Reward power as against coercive power impels to motivate and award employees who have done some commendable tasks. Legitimate power is derived from the position. Since the leader is a manager, he can influence the employees. His position has the power. Expert power is possessed by expert and technically qualified persons. The knowledge, skill and behavioral command are the given power base to influence others. Referent power is possessed by a person because of his exceptional qualities. v) Interaction: The relationship between two persons is essentially desired in the management. In public and politics, leadership does not require a relationship. It is merely the interaction between two parties. Without interaction, no one is a leader or a follower. vi) Acceptance: The power base and interaction are accepted by followers. If the influence is not recognized and not accepted by the follower, leadership does not take place in an organization. The behavior of the follower is changed and developed by the acceptance of the power of leadership. vii) Followers: Leadership has followers. The link between a leader and his followers is communication. Influencing others is leadership. So, there must be others who are being influenced to attain the objectives of the organization. Followers are the end-users of the leadership through interaction and communication. viii) Situation: Leadership is visible in a situation. In routine and regular functions, leadership is not required. In some situations and specific environment leadership is a must to guide the people to attain certain objectives. New ideas and motivational attitudes are developed by the leaders who inspire people to solve their problems. In a particular situation, people or workers may face certain acute problems and are unable to find a solution. ix) Attributes: Leadership is the attribute of a leader. The qualities of a leader are specific. The main quality of a leader is to influence others. In a situation, a leader can influence others. But the qualities needed for influencing others are personality, skills and charismatic influence. Leadership has its own personality.

Importance/ Function of Leadership

The significance of leadership in management will be clear if we study the functions which are performed by a leader. The functions are as follows: 1) Determination of Goals: A leader performs the creative function of laying down goals and policies for the group he is leading. He also acts as a guide in interpreting the goals and policies. 2) Organization of Activities: A good leader divides organization activities among the employees in a systematic manner. The relationships between them are clearly laid down. This reduces the chances of conflict between them. 3) Achieving Coordination: A leader integrates the goals of the individuals with the organizational goals and creates a community of interests. He keeps himself informed about the working of the group. He shares information with pthe group for the coordination of its efforts. 4) Representation of Workers: A leader is a representative of his group. He takes initiative in all matters of interest to the group. He also attempts to fulfil the psychological needs of his followers. 5) Providing Guidance: A leader guides the subordinates towards the achievement of organizational objectives. He is available for advice whenever a subordinate faces any problem.

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6) Inspiration of Employees: A good leader inspires the subordinates for better performance. Motivation is necessary for getting the desired work from the subordinates. The leader motivates the employees by providing them economic and non-economic rewards. 7) Building Employees Morale: Good leadership is indispensable for high employee morale. The leader shapes the thinking and attitudes of the group. He develops good human relations and facilitates interactions among the members of the group. He maintains voluntary cooperation and discipline among followers. 8) Facilitating Change: Leadership is the mechanism to convince workers about the need for change. Dynamic leadership is the corner-stone of organizational change. An effective leader is able to overcome resistance to change on the part of workers and thus facilitates change.

Need for Leadership

1) Imperfect Organization Structure: It is not possible for any organization structure to provide for all kinds of relationships. This explains the existence of informal groups within the framework of a formal organization. 2) Technological, Economic and Social Changes: In the face of rapid technological, economic and social changes, the organization is required to effect suitable changes in its operations and style. For example, in the event of a fall in demand, it may discontinue production of certain goods and services, or take up production of alternative goods and services. Only an effective leadership can enable it to meet the challenges posed by environmental factors. 3) Internal Imbalance Inspired by Growth: As an organization grows in size and complexity, it may develop certain imbalances. For example, increase in organizational activities may lead to increase in the levels of management, thus adding to complexity of the organization structure, and problems of command, coordination and control work at all levels. Only an effective leadership can steer the organization through such situations. 4) Nature of Human Memberships: The significance of leadership also stems from the nature of human membership in organizational settings. People forming an organization are members of several organizations. Human membership in an organization involves only a part of the individual. Numerous extraneous activities and affiliations take up the bulk of his time and satiate his needs. These extraorganizational activities influence human behavior at work and changes in these activities necessitate changes in work settings. If these changes come into conflict with the desired behavior in an organization, there arises an urgent need to make some change within the organization itself. Moreover, there is individual change and development stemming from maturity, age and assimilation of experience which, in turn, causes changes in members nature and level of needs and motives. Further, there is turnover and replacement, introducing unique experience and personality in the organization. All these changes demand adaptation on the part of the organization which is accomplished with the aid of people in leadership roles.

Difference between Management and Leadership

Basis 1) Scope Management Management is a wider term. Leadership is only a part of the managers jobs. Thus, a manager is more than a leader Process of managing group (organized) for specific reason. A manager makes use of formal (or official) authority to direct the subordinates. Management operates in a formal structure of organization. There is no concept of informal manager. Manager performs all five functions of management planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. Leadership Leadership is a part of management and not all of it.

2) 3) 4)

Definition Authority Structure

5)

Function

Process of influencing behavior of individual or group regardless of reason. A leader exercises his influence over the followers through the use of informal authority or power. Leadership operates in both organized and unorganized groups. Formal and informal leaders can coexist in an organization. Leadership functions come under directing through which behavior is directed to get maximum use of subordinates ability.

Thus, leadership is a part of management, but not all of it. This implies that a strong leader can be a weak manager because he is weak in planning or some other managerial duty. Reverse to this, manager can be a weak leader and still be an acceptable manager, especially if he happens to be managing people who have strong inner achievement drives.

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Components of Leadership
1) Follower: Different people require different styles of leadership. For Example: A new hire requires more supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation requires a different approach than one with a high degree of motivation. Leader must know his people. The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. 2) Leader: There must be an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader who determines if a leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful, leader have to convince his followers, that they are worthy of being followed.

Situation Follower Leader Communication

3) Communication: He leads through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when he set the example that communicates to his people that would not ask them to perform anything. What and how he communicates either builds or harms the relationship between leader and his employees. 4) Situation: All are different. What they do in one situation will not always work in another. They must use their judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For Example: Leader may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective. Various forces will affect these factors. Examples of forces are leader relationship with his seniors, the skill of his people, the informal leaders within his organization, and how Leader Company is organized.

Informal and Formal Leaders

Formal Leader: Formal leader is a member of organization who has given authority by virtue of his position to influence other members of organization to achieve organizational goals. Managers, directors are formal leaders in a typical organization. Formal leader is officially bind to drive members towards organizational goal and is responsible for results or outcome of efforts at the end. Formal leader has official responsibility towards organizational goals, has formal job description. Informal Leader: An informal leader has no formal organizational authority to influence others but possesses special skills and talent to influence and lead other members of organization. They are also called Natural leaders. Informal leaders possess strong self-motivation, possess positive attitude, motivates others and puts effort to drive organizational goals. Informal leaders are best candidates for future formal leaders. Informal leader do not have official commitment towards groups goal or organization goal and may not be directly responsible for final results and may not be accountable for it. Informal leader might not have formal job description to lead and motivate others and job description might be limited to certain task.

Quality of a Successful Leader/ Skills of a Successful Leader

Leadership is an intangible quality and its effectiveness can best be judged by the behavior and attitudes of followers. Even though, personal backgrounds and personalities differ widely, some of the factors such as education and socio-economic status are poor indicators of judgments of successful leaders. However, some behavioral characteristics may be common to most of the successful and effective leaders. Some of these characteristics are: i) ii) Ability to Inspire Others: This ability may be due to an internal "charisma" that is an inborn trait and may not be a learnable factor. Problem Solving Skills: An effective leader has developed the patience and ability to look at the problem from various angles and get down to the cause of the problem and he tries to solve the problem from its roots rather than the symptoms of the problem.

iii) Emotional Maturity: Emotional stability and maturity is a major ingredient for effective leadership. It pertains to good adjustment to life, calm, cool and calculated reaction to undesirable situations and obstacles and normal acceptance of success as well as failure. iv) Ability to Understand Human Behavior: A leader must understand the needs, desires and behavior of his subordinates and show respect for such desires. He is emotionally supportive and is careful enough to avoid ego threatening behavior. He must give credit to subordinates when their efforts are successful.

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v) Willingness to Take Risks: Routine work, no matter how well-done, never makes a leader. Successful leaders always charter the unknown. They must accept and seek new challenges. However, the risks must be calculated ones and outcomes of actions be reasonably predicted. Should these risks result in failure, a leader must take full blame and responsibility and not shift blame on others, even though they may be operative factors. He must be willing to tolerate frustration and defeat and learn from these failures. vi) Dedication to Organizational Goals: A leader must demonstrate his dedication and commitment to the organization's mission, goals and objectives by hard work and self-sacrifice. He must make sure that his followers fully understand the organizational objectives and are equally dedicated and willing to work for these objectives. vii) Intelligence: A successful leader must have above average knowledge and intelligence. Mental ability to think precisely, analyzes accurately, interprets clearly and concisely are necessary to consider the problems in the right perspective. viii) Sound Physique: Sound physical and mental health is essential to bear the burden of leadership. Sound physique includes physical stamina, nervous energy, mental vigor and important leadership qualities. ix) Foresight and Vision: He should have the capability to look forward and anticipate the events. He should have a high degree of imagination, moral courage, breadth and determination. x) Responsibility: A leader should be a responsible person and must be willing to assume responsibility for the consequences.

Activities of Successful and Effective Leaders/Managers

Fred (Luthans) and his colleagues conducted a comprehensive study to answer three major questions: 1) What do managers do? 2) What do successful managers do? and 3) What do effective managers do? Answers to these questions can provide insights and specific descriptions of the daily activities of successful (those promoted relatively rapidly in their organizations) and effective (those with satisfied and committed subordinates and high-performing units) managers or leaders.

What Do Managers Do?

The so-called Real Managers Study first used trained observers to freely observe and record for one varied hour per day over a two-week period the behaviors and activities of 44 managers from all levels and types of Midwest organizations. These included retail stores, hospitals, corporate headquarters, a railroad, government agencies, insurance companies, a newspaper office, financial institutions, and manufacturing plants. Briefly summarized, these activities are as follows: i) Communication: This activity consists of exchanging routine information and processing paperwork. Its observed behaviors include answering procedural questions, receiving and disseminating requested information, conveying the results of meetings, giving or receiving routine information over the phone, processing mail, reading reports, writing reports/memos/letters, routine financial reporting and bookkeeping, and general desk work. ii) Traditional Management: This activity consists of planning, decision making, and controlling. Its observed behaviors include setting goals and objectives, defining tasks needed to accomplish goals, scheduling employees, assigning tasks, providing routine instructions, defining problems, handling day-to-day operational crises deciding what to do, developing new procedures, inspecting work, walking around inspecting the work, monitoring performance data, and doing preventive maintenance.

iii) Human Resource Management: This activity contains the most behavioral categories; motivating/reinforcing, disciplining/punishing, managing conflict, staffing, and training/developing. Because it was not generally permitted to be observed, the disciplining/punishing category was subsequently dropped from the analysis. The observed behaviors for this activity include allocating formal rewards, asking for input, conveying appreciation, giving credit where due, listening to suggestions, giving positive feedback, providing group support, resolving conflict between work group members, appealing to higher authorities or third parties to resolve a dispute, developing job descriptions, reviewing applications, interviewing applicants, filling in where needed, orienting employees, arranging for training, clarifying roles, coaching, mentoring, and walking work group members through a task.

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iv) Networking: This activity consists of socializing/politicking and interacting with outsiders. The observed behaviors associated with this activity include non-work-related chitchat; informal joking around; discussing rumors, hearsay, and the grapevine; complaining, griping, and putting others down; politicking and gamesmanship; dealing with customers, suppliers, and vendors; attending external meetings; and doing/attending community service events.

What does Successful Managers Do?

Important though it is to get an empirical answer to the basic question of what leaders/managers do, of even greater interest is determining what successful and effective leaders/managers do. Success was defined in terms of the speed of promotion within an organization. A success index on the sample in the study was calculated by dividing the managers levels in their respective organizations by their tenure (length of service) there. Thus, a manager at the fourth level of management who had been with the organization for five years would be rated more successful than a manager at the third level who had been at that level for 25 years. Obviously, there are some potential problems with such a measure of success, but for the large sample of managers, this was an objective and useful measure. To answer the question of what successful managers do, several types of analyses were these analyses, the importance of networking in real managers success was very apparent. activities, only networking had a statistically significant relationship with success. Overall, networking made the biggest relative contribution to manager success and, importantly, management activities made the least relative contribution.
Networking (19%) Traditional Management (32%)

conducted. In all Of the four major it was clear that human resource

Human Resources (20%) Routine Communication (29%) Figure: Relative Distribution of Managers Activities

What does this mean? It means that in this study of real managers, using speed of promotion as the measure of success, it was found that successful managers spend relatively more time and effort socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders than did their less-successful counterparts. Perhaps equally important, the successful managers did not give relatively as much time or attention to the traditional management activities of planning, decision making, and controlling or to the human resource management activities of motivating/reinforcing, staffing, training/developing, and managing conflict. In other words, for the managers in this study, networking seems to be the key to success (as defined by rapid promotion). It should be noted that many managers aspire to success rather than being effective. One reason is that personal pride and mobility is at stake. Bedeian and Armenakis note what they call the cesspool syndrome, in which organizations in decline lose their best employees first, leaving behind the dreck, which then floats to the top. Consequently, although being successful as opposed to effective may seem less desirable to the organization, from an individual managers perspective, it may be part of an effective career strategy.

What Do Effective Managers Do?

Although the operational measure of success used in the study was empirical and direct, the definition and measurement of effectiveness offers little agreement on criteria or measures. To overcome as many of the obstacles and disagreements as possible, for a sample of the managers, the study used a combined effectiveness index that represented the two majorand generally agreed uponcriteria of both leadership theory/research and practice: i) Getting the job done through high quantity and quality standards of performance, and ii) Getting the job done through people, requiring their satisfaction and commitment. In particular, a standardized organizational effectiveness questionnaire that measures the units quality and quantity of performance, job satisfaction questionnaire, and organizational commitment questionnaire were used. This multiple-measures index was employed in the study to answer the most important question of what effective managers do. It was found that communication and human resource management activities made by

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far the largest relative contribution to the managers effectiveness and that the traditional management activities, and especially the networking activities, made by far the least relative contribution. In other words, if effectiveness is defined as the perceived quantity and quality of the performance of a managers unit and his or her work group members satisfaction and commitment, then the biggest relative contribution to leadership effectiveness comes from the human-oriented activitiescommunication and human resource management. Another interesting finding from this part of the study alluded to earlier, was that the least relative contribution to the managers measured effectiveness came from the networking activity. This, of course, is in stark contrast to the results of the successful manager analysis. Networking activity had by far the strongest relative relationship to success, but the weakest to effectiveness. On the other hand, human resource management activities had a strong relationship to effectiveness (second only to human-oriented communication activities) but had the weakest relative relationship to success. In other words, the successful managers in this study did not perform the same activities as the effective managers (in fact, they did almost the opposite). These contrasting profiles may have significant implications for understanding the performance problems facing todays organizations.

Leaders vs. Manager

Leadership is the ability to enthuse the followers towards a definite goal. It is the process of stimulating members of the group towards a particular I direction. Leadership is a part of management, but not all of it. A manager is required to plan and organize, for example, but all we ask of a leader is that he gets others to follow. The fact that he can get others to follow him is no guarantee that he is going in the right direction. That means a strong leader can be a weak manager because he is weak in planning or some other managerial duty. All work performed by a leader may not be management work. This explains why although a good manager must be an effective leader, many outstanding loaders have, in fact, been exceedingly poor managers. The reverse is also possible. A manager can be a weak leader and still be an acceptable manager, especially if he happens to manage people who have strong inner achievement drives. But, usually, it is essential that a person to be an effective manager must also be an effective leader. Leadership is something a person does. However, it should not be confused with a mere activity. Aggressiveness and constant interaction with others do not necessarily develop leadership, because sometimes, leadership action has to stay in the background keeping pressures off the group; to keep quiet so that others may talk, be calm in times of uproar, to hesitate and to delay decisions.6 An individual is a leader in the true sense if he is accepted as a leader by the group and there is communication between the leader and the followers. Leadership exists when both these factors are present in a particular situation. A person lacking in one of these factors cannot be called a leader as he cannot lead the people. Earl P. Strong is of the opinion that leadership in business is not synonym of the boss. He makes the following distinctions between the two terms as given in Exhibit Manager vs. Leader
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) The Boss (Manager) He drives and orders. He depends on his authority. He engenders fear. He fixes blames and finds faults. He knows all the answers He makes the work drudgery He believes in I The Leader He coaches and advises. He depends on his confidence and goodwill. He inspires enthusiasm. He solves problems. He consults and seeks advice. He makes the work a game. He believes in We and You.

Cornerstones of Effective Leaders

The seven cornerstones of effective leadership: 1) Goals and Vision: Leadership consists of three pillarsleaders, followers and goals. Effective leaders are known for their capability to articulate the organizations vision and goals in a manner which is understood by the followers. This is also the first step towards effective leadership. Once the overall vision is defined and the goals are understoodthe goals need to be broken down into sub-goals for each section and each level of the group. Many organizations today employ the balanced scorecard as an effective tool to cascade top level goals. 2) Empowerment: The team is an extension of the leadership. An effective leader knows how to enable and empower the team so that the team can work independently. With clearly understood goals and an overall vision to work for, the teams ability to deliver increases if they feel empowered to act.

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A good way of ensuring this is to make sure that individual goals are understood and reviewed periodically the why and the when of each goal should be understood, the how should be left to individual enterprise. Spend as much time as required in defining and explaining the goals and then be available for broad directions and advice without defining the stepsin management terms, it is called managing by outcomes. 3) Prioritization: Many times people encounter the common excuse that we do not have time. In this context it is important to see that a priority is defined and followed. The most important things to do are those that have the maximum impact in achieving the goals. A simple way to manage time properly would be to first spend a few days in documenting all the communication flows, think about and act upon and finally how many of these actually lead to a positive outcome of goals. Following this method for a few weeks will help the leader in setting up a process to identify the most important activities for him. In this context, it is inspiring to think about all the great achievers in history had actually the same number of hours per day that you have. 4) Push for Excellence: An effective leader always pushes a bit harder to explore the boundaries of what is deemed possible. This push is to explore what lies beyond the obvious. An effective leader knows that by continuing to do what has been done so far, we continue to achieve whatever we have achieved so far. This push for excellence enables the effective leader to build the next set of leadersa group of people who are willing to push the boundaries and explore horizons. In the corporate environment, one good way of addressing this would be to define stretch goals. The effective leader does not play safe but is always looking for new ways to do old things, trying new things and finally, pushing the team to do the same. Defining and rewarding stretch goals is a good way of finding and rewarding excellence within the team. 5) Learning and Flexibility: While most people in the corporate world talk about rigor, flexibility should be the main focus. In todays dynamic change-driven world, many corporations lose out in the long run because they define rigor as one of the most important cornerstones of the organization. This emphasis on rigor enervates the older corporations, creating space for newer and more flexible ones to fill in the gap. The effective leader of today focuses on flexibility instead. This is not to assert that process maturity and rigor are not important rather, flexibility and versatility will be the key critical success factors. Any project manager you talk to will assert that requirements need to be defined well before the project is taken to execution. Any major project takes years to execute and unfortunately, the world will not stand still in the meantime! 6) Complementating Team: Each of the followers had very different characters and different approaches to achieving the same goals however, with one unifying message and belief in their faith they were able to lay the basic foundation of what today is the worlds largest religion. Jesus did not select a set of people who behaved like him, rather he understood that each of his chosen team had specific roles to play and could leverage their strengths. Todays effective leader has to follow the same principles to define the vision for the group and then build a team whose collective strength can address the primary goals of the organization. 7) Building Leadership: The lasting contribution of an effective leader is to build a team of good leaders, capable of taking the organization to greater heights when the leader will not be around. This is how to differentiate between a good and a great leader. The desire of a truly great leader is to build other leaders who will outperform him/her. The effective leader spends time and energy in building up leaders to carry on.

Conclusion
Effective commonsense leadership is exactly what it reads a common sense approach to leading people. It is important to understand that though the style of leadership varies across individuals, the basic principles remain the same. In todays global corporate world, it requires an appreciation of the very diversity they operate in, a willingness to learn, the humility to explore our self, and finally, focus on what we want to achieve.

Leadership Styles and Their Application

Leadership style refers to a leaders behavior. Leadership styles are the pattern of behavior, which a leader adopts in influencing the behavior of his followers (subordinates) in the organizational context. Leadership style is divided into five types: 1) Styles based on the amount of authority retained by the leader; 2) Styles based on the relative emphasis placed on the task to be performed versus that placed on people; 3) Styles based on the assumptions about people made by the leader; 4) Likerts four styles; and 5) Entrepreneurial leadership styles.

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1) Styles Based on Authority Retained: This is the classical approach to classifying the leadership
styles and is useful even today. Styles in this approach are classified depending on how much authority is retained by the leader versus how much is delegated to the subordinate employees. Different types of Leadership styles are: i) Autocratic leadership ii) Participative leadership iii) Free rein leadership i) Autocratic or Authoritarian Leader: The autocratic leader gives orders, which must be obeyed by the subordinates. He determines policies for the group without consulting them, and does not give detailed information about future plans, but simply tells the group what immediate steps they must take. He gives personal praise or criticism to each member on his own initiative and remains aloof from the group for the major part of the time. Thus, under this style, all decision-making power is centralized in the leader as shown in figure below . Leader adopting this style stresses his prerogative to decide and order a subordinates obligation to do what they are told to carry out. He does not give subordinates the freedom to influence his behavior.
A B B E A C D B D C (a) Autocratic D (b) Participative Types of Leadership Styles (A is the Leader) (c) Free Rein E A C

Autocratic leadership may be negative because followers are uninformed, insecure and afraid of leaders authority. Such a leader may be called strict autocrat who relies on negative influences and gives orders, which the subordinates must accept. Leadership can be positive also because the leader may use his power to disperse rewards to his group. When his motivational style is positive he is often called a benevolent autocrat. The benevolent autocrat is effective in getting high productivity in many situations and he can develop effective human relationships. There is another type of autocratic leader, known as manipulative autocrat, who makes the subordinates feel that they are participating in decision-making process even though he has already taken the decision. The autocratic management has been successful because it provides strong motivation to the manger. It permits quick decision-making as only one person decides for the whole group. It has also been successful in such situations where subordinates are reluctant to take initiative. In industry, this style is quite common and has often succeeded. In future, it is less likely to be effective because: a) The coming generation is less amenable to rigid direction and control b) The standard of living of people is rising c) There is now social awareness among the people; they look for social and egoistic satisfaction from their jobs. ii) Participative or Democratic Leader: A democratic leader is one who gives instructions only after consulting the group. He sees to it that policies are worked out in group discussions and with the acceptance of the group. He makes it clear that praise or blame is a matter for the group and participates in the group as a member. Participative leadership style favors decision-making by the group as shown in figure above, sharing of power by allowing the group to make decisions and to let decisions emerge from the group. Participative manager decentralizes managerial authority. His decisions are not unilateral like that of the autocrat because they arise from consultation with the group members and participation by them. Unlike an autocratic manager who controls through the authority he possesses, a participative manager exercises control mostly by using forces within the group. Some of the advantages of participative leadership are: a) It increases the acceptance of managements ideas. b) It improves the attitude of employees towards their jobs and the organization.

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c) It increases the cooperation between management and employees. d) It leads to reduction in the number of complaints and grievances. e) It increases the morale of the employees. This style has following limitations as: a) Participation may be interpreted as a sign of inefficiency on the part of the leader. Subordinates may view the leader as incompetent to handle crisis independently. b) Sometimes participation equivalent to the passing the back to subordinates by the leader. c) Participative leadership is time consuming. Quick decisions can not be taken. iii) Free Rein or Laissez Faire Leader: A free rein leader does not lead, but leaves the group entirely to itself as shown in figure above. He is represented by the chairman of the board who does not manage, but leaves all responsibility for most of the work to his subordinates. The free rein leader avoids power. He depends largely upon the group to establish its own goals and work out its own problems. Group members work themselves and provide their own motivation. The leader exists as a contact person with outsiders to bring for his group the information and resources it needs to accomplish its job. Free rein leadership ignores the managers contribution approximately in the same way as the autocratic leadership ignores that of the group. It fails to give the group the advantages of leaders inspired motivation. The leader completely handle over his leadership position, gives all responsibility and most of the work entrusted to him to the group which he is supposed to lead, limiting his authority to maintain the contact of the group with persons outside the group. This is also known as permissive style of leadership, where there is least intervention by the leader, handing over the authority and letting the group to operate entirely on its own. This mode of direction can produce good and quick results if the subordinates are highly educated and brilliant people who have a sincere desire to go ahead and perform their responsibilities.

2) Styles Based on Task Versus People Emphasis: Another standard way of classifying
leadership styles is based on the relative concern the leader places on the task to be performed vis--vis, the people performing the task. A leader who places greater emphasis on task performance tends to exhibit the following behaviors: i) Organizing and defining the roles of the group members. ii) Explaining what activities each has to do and when, where and how tasks are to be accomplished. iii) Establishing well-defined patterns of organization, channels of communication and ways of task accomplishment. A leader who places greater emphasis on people tries to gain their relationships by exhibiting such behaviors as: i) Establishing channels of communication ii) Extending psychological support to them iii) Developing mutual trust iv) Developing empathy for them. Depending on task emphasis or people emphasis, four combinations are possible as shown in figure below: i) High-Task and Low-Relationship: A high-task and low-relationship leader emphasizes showing employees how to get the tasks accomplished and spends minimum time giving psychological support. This style may be effective where the employees are inexperienced with the work to be performed. The high-task and low-relationship style may also be well suited to situations where seasonal help is involved. Seasonal employees may be unfamiliar with the task and these require direct guidance on performing the work properly. A high-task and low-relationship leader is not necessarily rude or discourteous. The leader simply takes the expedient route of focusing on work rather than people. High-Task and High Relationship: This leader spends considerable time showing people how to get the work accomplished and providing them psychological support. The high-task and high-relationship style is considered generally useful because it results in high productivity and personal satisfaction. A more critical look at this style would suggest that it works best in situations where people need an active and involved leader. When employees are lacking in self-confidence and technical skill, the high-task and high relationship style is particularly effective.

ii)

Leadership (Chapter 2.4) People Emphasis High Low

B - 139 High-Relationship and Low-Task (Supporting Style) High-Task and High-Relationship (Participative Style)

iii) High-Relationship and Low-Task: A leader using the high-relationship and low-task style gives employees much encouragement and support but a minimum of guidance about the task accomplishment. In some situations employees need more psychological support rather than technical instructions. The high-relationship and low-task style is suitable for such situations.

Low-Task and Low-Relationship (Free-Rein Style)

High-Task and Low-Relationship (Autocratic Style)

iv) Low-Relationship and Low-Task: A leader using Low High this style is neither here nor there. It is essentially Task Emphasis a free-rein style. Subordinates are given Four Key Leader Behaviors considerable latitude in performing their work. They are also given very little psychological support, encouragement and praise. They are; therefore, free to run their own show. When subordinates are highly skilled and psychologically mature, this style can be effective.

3) Styles Based on Assumptions about People: Depending on what assumptions a leader makes
about his or her followers, two styles may be distinguished. This two-way classification is based on McGregor's famous Theory X and Theory Y assumptions about people. In the meantime it may be stated that Theory X leaders are autocratic. They distrust people and believe in close supervision and tight-control over the subordinates. Theory Y leaders are participative; they trust subordinates and allow them to participate in decision-making.

4) Likert's Four Styles: Developing on the notion that leadership style consists of two extreme
positionsautocratic and democratic. Likert develops four styles of leadership to capture the management culture of an organization: i) Exploitative authoritative, ii) Benevolent authoritative, iii) Consultative, and iv) Participative. i) Exploitative Authoritative: As an exploitative authoritarian, the leader uses sanctions, communication is downward, superiors and subordinates are psychologically distant, and the decisions are generally made at the top of the organization. Benevolent Authoritarian: Here the leader uses rewards to encourage performance, upward communication is permitted but to the extent the boss wants, subservience to boss is widespread, and there is some delegation in decision making, though major decisions are made by the people at the top of the hierarchy.

ii)

iii) Consultative: Here the leader uses rewards, communication is two-way although upward, communication is cautious and limited, some involvement is sought from employees and as in the benevolent authoritarian style, subordinates are involved in decision-making in a limited way. iv) Participative: The leader disperses economic rewards and makes full use of group participation and involvement in setting performance standards and improving methods and procedures. Subordinates and superiors are psychologically close, and group decision-making is widespread in the organization. There is a tendency among a number of individuals to belong to more than workgroup in order to promote intergroup links and understanding.

5) Entrepreneurship Leadership Style: An entrepreneur is a person who coverts an innovative idea

into business. The word entrepreneur is generally associated with small-scale industry. An entrepreneurship leadership style is based on both their personality characteristics and the circumstances of operating a business, many entrepreneurs use a similar leadership style. The most notable features of this style are: i) Impatience and rudeness towards employees because the entrepreneur is always busy. ii) A heavy task orientation combined with a very direct-approach to giving instructions to employees. iii) A charismatic personality that inspires others to want to do business with him or her despite the impatience. iv) A much stronger interest in dealing with customers than employees. v) A strong dislike for bureaucratic rules and regulations. vi) Anxiety to consolidate business gains as quickly as possible.

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Theories/Approaches of Leadership
There are several approaches to the study of leadership, but we will classify our discussion into three categories: 1) Trait, 2) Behavioral, and 3) Situational theories.

Traits Approach
It is a traditional approach to the theory of leadership. According to this theory, it is thought that a leader has specific trait of mind and intelligence. These special qualities of head and heart generally include mental capacities and morale qualities. The trait theory holds the view that successful leader possess these basic qualities and these are inherited rather than acquired. Out of this approach, came the popular belief that Leaders are Born and not Made.

Stogdills Trait Factors

In the late 1940s, Ralph Stogdill reported on the basis of at least fifteen studies that leaders possess intelligence, scholarship, dependability in exercising responsibilities, activity and social participation and socioeconomic status. He also found traits such as sociability, persistence, initiative, knowing how to get things done, self-confidence, alertness, insight, cooperativeness, popularity, adaptability and verbal facility in ten leadership studies. Persons who are leaders are presumed to display better judgment and engage themselves in social activities. The study of the lives of successful leaders reveals that they possessed many of these traits. Some of the important traits of an effective leader are discussed below: i) Intelligence: This trait seems to hold up better than any other. Leaders generally have some what higher level of intelligence than the average of their followers. They possess the ability to think scientifically, analyze accurately and interpret clearly and precisely the problems before them in terms of different aspects and perspectives. ii) Physical Features: Physical characteristics and level of maturity determine personality of an individual, which is an important factor in determining success of leadership. Height, weight, physique, health and appearance of an individual are important for leadership to some extent.

iii) Inner Motivation Drive: Leaders have relatively intense achievement type motivational drives. They have the inner urge to keep accomplishing something. To initiate suitable activities at proper time is the habit of a leader. He works hard more for the satisfaction of inner drives than for extrinsic material rewards. iv) Maturity: Leaders generally have broad interests and activities. They are emotionally mature and have balanced temperaments avoiding menacing extremes so that they may not become thoughtless victims of the circumstances. They also have high frustration tolerance v) Vision and Foresight: A leader cannot maintain his influence unless he exhibits his trait of looking forward well in advice and imagination for handling his followers. So he should imaginatively visualize tends and devise his polices and programmes with foresight based on logical programmes. vi) Acceptance of Responsibility: A reliable leader is one who is prepared to shoulder the responsibility for the consequences of any steps he contemplates or takes. He is always aware of the duties and obligations associated with the position he holds. vii) Open-mind and Adaptability: A leader is ready to absorb and adopt new ideas and views of others as may be demanded by the situation. He is not critical of others. He is prepared to accommodate others viewpoints and modify his decision, if need be. Flexibility is another name for open-mindedness, which makes the leader more identified with the group. viii) Self-Confidence: A good leader has conceptual clarity about the things he is going to do. He has confidence in himself whenever he initiates any course of action. Self-confidence is essential to motivate the followers and boost up their morale. ix) Human Relations Attitude: A good leader is considerate of the followers as his success as a leader largely depends on the cooperation of the people. Thus, a successful leader possesses the human relations attitude. He always tries to develop social understanding with other people. He approaches various problems in terms of people involved more than in terms of technical aspects involved. He is constantly busy in achieving the voluntary cooperation of the followers. x) Fairness of Objectivity: A good leader is fair and objective in dealing with subordinates. He must be free from bias and prejudice while becoming emotionally involved with the followers. Honesty, fairplay, justice and integrity of character are expected of any good leader.

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Ghisellis Personal Traits

Edwin Ghiselli has conducted extensive research on the relationship between personality and motivational traits and leadership effectiveness. His findings suggest that the following personality traits range from being very important to unimportant in relation to leadership success. 1) Very Important i) Decisiveness. ii) Intellectual capacity. iii) Job achievement orientation. iv) Self-actualization feelings. v) Self-confidence. vi) Management abilityteam builder. 2) Moderately Important. i) Affinity for working class. ii) Drive and initiative. iii) Need for a lot of money. iv) Need for job security. v) Personal maturity. 3) Almost no Importance. i) Masculinity versus femininity. Again, the problem with Ghisellis research is that several of the traits are interdependent and there is no indication of how much of any trait a person should have to be an effective leader.

Criticism of the Trait Theory

The trait approach to leadership has been severely criticized by many. Some of the limitations of the theory are the following: i) The list of personality traits of successful leaders is too long and there seems to be no finality about it. Although hundreds of traits have been identified, no consistent pattern has emerged. ii) How much of which trait a successful leader must have is not clear. Furthermore, certain traits, particularly psychological, cannot be quantified.

iii) The theory assumes that a leader is born and not trained. This assumption is not acceptable to the contemporary thinkers on the subject. iv) Contrary to what the theory assumes, leadership effectiveness does not depend upon the personality of the leader alone. Other variables like the situation, the task, the organization and the characteristics of followers will equally determine the effectiveness of leaders. v) It is well known that people who fail as leaders and people who never achieve positions of leadership often possess some of the same traits as successful leaders. Thus, for example, although taller people may generally be more successful as leaders, many tall people have neither the inclination nor the capabilities to be leaders. At the same time, many short people have risen to positions of leadership. vi) There is little consensus on the meaning of words used to label traits. In a study of extensive leadership qualities a researcher demonstrated the magnitude of this problem when he asked 75 top executives to define the term "dependability", a trait associated with effective leadership. The executives defined this trait in 147 different ways. Even after similar definitions had been combined, 25 different definitions remained.

Behavioral Theories
Because of the widespread inconsistencies of trait studies of leadership effectiveness, research continued and focused on the behavioral patterns, or styles, of leaders with respect to their interaction with group members. The behavioral theorists contend that a leaders style is oriented toward either an employee-centered or a jobcentered emphasis. 1) Employee-centered: In the employee-centered orientation, the leader emphasizes developing friendly, open relationships with employees and is very sensitive to their personal and social needs. 2) Job-centered: A job-centered orientation is one in which the leader emphasizes getting the job done by planning, organizing, delegating, making decisions, evaluating performance, and exercising close management control.

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Employee-Centered Leader Job-Centered Leader i) Treats subordinates as human beings. Emphasizes technical aspect of job. ii) Shows concern for the well-being of employees. Relies on work standards, procedures and rules. iii) Encourages and involves the employees in setting and Exercises close supervision. Employees are seen as a implementing goals. tool in the production process.

Several research efforts have focused on these two extremes and in-between levels of leadership behavior. 1) Leader Continuum: Early research by Lewin, Lippitt, and White suggested a continuum theory of leadership that identified three basic styles of leadership, as illustrated in figure below.
Autocrat Democratic Laissez-faire

Benevolent autocrat Leader Continuum

i)

Autocrat: At one end of the spectrum is the autocrat, an individual who has little trust in group members, believes that money is the only reward that will motivate workers, and issues orders to be fulfilled with no questions asked. Laissez-Faire: Leader at the other end of the continuum is the laissez-faire leader, who has little or no self-confidence in his or her leadership ability, sets no goal for the group, and minimizes communication and group interaction.

ii)

iii) Democratic: The democratic leader decision making with the group members, explains to the group reasons for personal decisions when necessary, and objectively communicates criticism and praise to subordinates. The research suggested that the democratic leadership style is most effective and productive. It results in a continuous flow of new ideas and positive changes, a sense of group responsibility, and improved quality and quantity of work. iv) Benevolent Autocrat: Robert McMurry described the benevolent autocrat as a leader who listens carefully to followers, gives the impression of being democratic, but always makes his or her own personal decision. He argues that the democratic leadership style is too slow and unworkable in our fast moving business world. A benevolent autocrat is powerful, prestigious, and respected and therefore able to move faster and more effectively in a firm. 2) Ohio State University Studies: These well publicized studies were started shortly after World War II. The main objective of the studies was to identify the major dimensions of leadership and to investigate the effect of leader behavior on employee performance and satisfaction. From a list of leader behaviors in a wide variety of situations, two leadership dimensions were identified. i) Initiating structure, which refers to leader behavior that defines and organizes the group tasks, assigns the tasks to employees and supervises their activities. ii) Consideration refers to leader behavior that can be characterized by friendliness, respect, supportiveness, openness, trust and concern for the welfare of the employees.

The main point in the study is that both consideration and initiating structure are not seen as being placed on a continuum. That's, rather than a leader necessarily being low on one dimension when high on the other, the leader could be high on both, low on both, or high on one and low on the other as seen in the quadrants shown in figure below.
High Human Relations Democratic Consideration Behavior

Laissez Faire Low

Autocratic

Low

Initiating Structure Behavior

High

Leader Behaviors and Popularized Leadership Styles

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The findings of the Ohio State studies can be summarized as follows: i) Consideration was positively related to low absenteeism and grievance, but it was negatively or neutrally related to performance. ii) Initiating structure was positively related to employee performance but was also associated with such negative consequences as absenteeism and grievances. iii) When both consideration and structure were high, performance and satisfaction tended to be high. But in some cases, high productivity was accompanied by absenteeism and grievances. 3) Managerial Grid: The concept of managerial grid was created by R.R. Blake and Jane S. Mouton of USA. They emphasized that leadership style consists of facts of both task oriented and relation oriented behavior in varying degrees. They have used two phrases: i) Concern for Production: Concern for production means the attitude of the superiors towards a variety of factors concerning production, such as products, procedures, processes, quality of staff service, work load, efficiency and quantity of production. ii) Concern for People: Concern for people includes degree of personal commitment towards goal achievement, maintaining the self esteem of workers, responsibility and conductibility based on trust rather than on force and satisfying inter-personal relations. Figure below shows the degree of concern for production and for people and possible interactions (combinations) between them. The horizontal axis represents concern for production and the vertical axis indicates concern for people. Each axis is expressed as a nine point scale of concern. No.1 in each case represents the minimum concern and No.9 represents the maximum concern in ascending order. a) The 9, 1 Managerial Style (Task): 9, 1 scale point indicates efficiency results from arranging work in such a way that human elements have little effect. b) The 1, 9 Managerial Style (Country Club): 1, 9 scale point indicates the thoughtful attention to needs of people for satisfying relationships which leads to a comfortable, friendly organization atmosphere and work tempo. c) The 1, 1 Managerial Style (Impoverished): 1, 1 scale point indicates that exertion of minimum effort to get required work done is appropriate to sustain organization relationship.
9 8 Concern for People 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Low
1, 9 Country Club Management Thoughtful attention to needs of people for satisfying relationships leads to a comfortable friendly organization atmosphere and work temp. 9, 9 Team Management Work accomplishment is from committed people; interdependence through a common stake in organization purpose leads to relationships of trust and respect.

5, 5 Middle of Road Adequate organization performance is possible through balancing the necessity to get out work with maintaining morale of people at a satisfactory level. 1, 1 Impoverished Management exertion of minimum effort to get required work done is appropriate to sustain organization membership. 9, 1 Autocratic/Task Efficiency in operations results from arranging conditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree.

Low

High

Concern for Production Managerial Grid

d) The 5, 5 Managerial Style (Middle Road): 5, 5 scale point indicates that adequate performance is possible through balancing the work requirements with maintaining morale of people at satisfactory level. e) The 9, 9 Managerial Style (Team): 9, 9 scale point indicates that work accomplishment from committed people and interdependence through a common stake in organization leads to relationship of trust and respect. Here we have 81 possible positions on the grid reflecting as many leadership styles, but the focus usually centres around five basic styles. The 9, 1 leader is mainly concerned with production and little concern for people. The leader wants to meet production schedule and get the task done at all cost. The 1, 9 style reflects a minimum concern for production and maximum concern for people.

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Managerial grid approach is attractive, instructive and has a common sense appeal. The grid helps the manager to identify his own leadership style. It serves as a useful framework for the leaders to understand behavior and reactions of people at work. However, managerial grid fails to take cognizance of environmental factors, nature of subordinates and nature of task. Further, it is impossible to calculate 81 combinations to determine leadership behavior.
1,1 Little concern for either production or people 1,9 Lowest concern for production highest for people 9,1 Highest concern for production lowest for people 5,5 Comfortable concern for both production and people 9, 9 Highest concern for both production and people Style of Leader The impoverished type The country-club type The autocrat type The middle-of-the-road type The team type Effectiveness Worst leadership style People-oriented style Production-oriented style Maintain present balance style Peak of leadership style

Difference between Trait and Behavior Theories

Theories Trait theories Leader behavior theories Emphasis Study personal characteristics Study how a leader behaves End Result Separate leaders from non-leaders Followers performance and satisfaction.

Evaluation of Behavioral Theory

Behavioral theory of leadership has some important implications for managers. They can shape their behavior which appears to be functional and discard the behavior which appears to be dysfunctional. Researchers who have taken behavioral theory for analyzing leadership behavior (known as leadership style) have prescribed various leadership styles which may be applied in managing the people in organizations. This theory suffers from two basic limitations: 1) A particular behavior may be functional at a point of time but it may be dysfunctional at another point of time. Thus, the time element will be a decider of the effectiveness of the behavior and not the behavior itself. 2) Effectiveness of leadership behavior depends on various factors which are not in the leader but external to him like nature of followers (subordinates) and the situations under which the leaders behavior takes place. These factors have not been given adequate consideration. To that extent, the theory does not explain leadership phenomenon fully.

Situational Approach
This theory advocates that leadership is strongly affected by the situation from which a leader emerges and in which he works. It is based on the assumptions that there exists an interaction between a group and its leader and that people tend to follow the person (known as leader) who is capable of fulfilling their aspirations. Thus, leader is a means of achieving the goals of the group and the members. He recognizes the needs of the situation and then acts accordingly. The focus in the situational approach to leadership is on observed behavior and not on any hypothetical inborn or acquired ability or potential for leadership. In other words, the emphasis is on the behavior of leaders and their followers and the type of situation. Leadership process is thus a function of the leader, the followers and the situation. It can best be explained in terms of the interaction between the leader, those being led and the nature of situation in which they operate. In other words, a person becomes a leader not only because of his personal attributes, but also because of various situational factors and the interaction between the leader and the group members, we will examine some of the most popular situational theories that attempt to fulfill this goal. 1) Hersey and Blanchards Situational Leadership (Life Cycle Theory): Paul Hersey and Kenneth C Blanchard have developed a leadership theory and an accompanying training program that are taught in many major corporations through out the country. Their basic thesis is that the most effective leadership style should vary with the maturity level of the subordinates. They identify the two major dimensions of leader concern as task behavior and relationship behavior. Task behavior is the extent to which leaders engage in one way communication with subordinates by explaining what each follower is to do, when to do it, and where and how the tasks are to be accomplished. Relationship behavior refers to the manner, in which leaders engage in two way communication with subordinates by providing socio emotional support, psychological strokes, and facilitating behavior.

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Maturity level in Hersey and Blanchards leadership theory refers to the following: i) The need for achievement, or motivation level of subordinatesthat is, their desire and capacity to set high but attainable goals. ii) Subordinates willingness and ability to accept more responsibility. iii) Education and/or experience of subordinates with respect to the job. In the initial phase, when subordinates first enter the organization a high task orientation by the manager is most appropriate. Subordinates must be instructed in their tasks and familiarized with the organizations rules and procedures. At this stage a non-directive manager causes anxiety and confusion among new employees however, a participatory employee relationship approach would also be inappropriate at this stage because subordinates cannot yet be regarded as colleagues. This style is called the directing or telling approach of leadership.
(HIGH) High Relationship and Low Task Relationship Behavior Style of Leader High Task and High Relationship

S3 S4

S2 S1

Low Relationship and Low Task

High Task and Low Relationship

(LOW) Mature HIGH M4

Task Behavior
Maturity of Follower(s) MODERATE M3 M2 LOW M1

(HIGH)
Immature

Situational Leader Model

In the Second phase, as subordinates begin to learn their tasks, task-oriented management remains essential, as subordinates are not yet willing or able to accept full responsibility. However, the managers trust in and support of subordinates can increase as the manager becomes familiar with subordinates and desires to encourage further efforts on their part. Thus, the manager may choose to initiate employeeoriented behaviors. This style is called selling or coaching approach to leadership. In the third phase (here it is the participating or supporting style), the subordinates ability and achievement motivation are increased and subordinates actively begin to seek greater responsibility. The manager will no longer need to be directive (indeed, close direction might be resented). However, the manager will continue to be supportive and considerate in order to strengthen the subordinates' resolve for greater responsibility. Delegating is the style which the manager follows in the final stage. Here the manager can reduce the amount of support and encouragement as subordinates are on there own and no longer need or expect a directive relationship with their manager. 2) Fiedlers Contingency Model: Taking the cue from the situational approach of leadership that any one of the single style cannot be considered suitable for all situations and for all kinds of subordinates, Fiedler developed a contingency model of leadership assuming that the effectiveness of the leadership is based on his ability to act in terms of situational requirements. To approach his study, Fiedler postulated two major styles of leadership: human relations or lenient style and task-directed or hard-nosed style. Human relations style is oriented primarily towards achieving good interpersonal relations and towards achieving a position of personal prominence. Task-directed style is primarily concerned towards achieving task performed. Fiedler feels that the group performance will be contingent upon the appropriate matching of leadership style and the degree of favorableness of the group situation for the leader, that is, the degree to which the situation provides the leader with influence over his group members.

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Favorableness of situation has been defined as the degree to which a given situation has enables the leader to exert influence over a group. He has identified three critical dimensions of favorableness of situations: i) Leader member relations refer to the degree that others trust and respect the leader, and to the leaders congeniality. ii) Task structure is the degree to which the job tasks are structured. For example, assembly line jobs are more structured than managerial occupations. iii) Position power refers to the power and influence that go with the job. A manager has more position power if the manager is able to hire, fire and maintain discipline. Position power is analogous to coercive, reward and legitimate power.
Style leadership Task directed O

Human Relations

Very () Unfavorable

Unfavorable

Favorable

(+) Very favorable

Favorableness of the Situation Fiedler Model of Leadership

Situations are favorable if all the three dimensions are high, if the leader is generally accepted followers, if the task is very structured, and if a great deal of authority is formally attributed to the leaders position, is situation the very favorable. If the opposite exists, the situation is very unfavorable to the leader. Fiedler identifies the relationship between leadership style and favorableness of situations as shown in figure above. 3) Tannenbaum and Schmidts Situational Continuum: Robert Tannenbaum and Warren Schmidt theorized that the most effective leadership style is contingent on what they called forces in (1) the leader, (2) the follower, and (3) the situation. Based on the prevalence and interaction of these forces, a leader has a continuum of styles from which to choose for maximizing organizational productivity.
Autocratic Boss-Centered Leadership Use of authority by the manager Area of freedom for subordinates Free-rein SubordinateCentered Leadership

Manager makes decision and announces it

Manager sells decision

Manager presents ideas and invites questions.

Manager Manager Manager permits Manager presents defines limits; presents subordinates to tentative decision ask group to function within limits subject to change problem, gets make decision. defined by superior suggestion, makes decisions Continuum of Leadership Behavior

Forces in the leader encompass a managers value system, personal attitudes regarding delegation of authority and responsibility, the degree of confidence in subordinates abilities to handle authority and responsible tasks, personal feelings of insecurity in certain crises or no routine situations, and inclination toward a more autocratic or democratic leadership style.

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Forces in the subordinate refer to their need for freedom versus careful direction and control, the degree of understanding and identification with the company goals, the willingness and readiness to accept additional responsibility, and the degree of interest in and expectation of sharing in organizational problem solving and decision making. Forces in the situation are identified as time pressures and deadlines, demands from higher management levels, the type of organizational structurecentralized versus decentralized, the synergistic cooperation and effectiveness of the work group, and the specific knowledge and experience for solving specific problems. Figure above graphically depicts the leadership continuum, revealing the various styles or approaches a leader can adopt, from boss centered to subordinate-centered, and depending on the inter-relationships of the three forces described above. Thus, this approach does not belief that leaders are born but asserts, Leaders are made. Thus, it necessities the executive training and development programmes for the development of future Leaders.

Evaluation of Situational Theory

Situational theory has wide implications for managers in the sense that it offers clues why a manager who is successful in one situation, fails when there is change in the situation. Therefore, the managers may do better by adopting management practices including leadership which match with the situational variables. In fact, the systems and contingency approach has become the way of thinking in management, and leadership is no exception. This theory, however, should not be taken as the final word in leadership. The theory appears to be good on the surface but becomes quite complex in practice because of the presence of numerous contingent factors. However, managers can overcome this problem by diagnosing these factors suitably. This is not necessarily provided by the theory but experience has its role.

Most Recent Approaches to Leadership

1) Attribution Theory of Leadership: Attribution theory, deals with people trying to make sense out of causeeffect relationships. When something happens, they want to attribute it to something. In the context of leadership, attribution theory says that leadership is merely an attribution that people make about other individuals. Using the attribution framework, researchers have found that people characterize leaders as having such traits as intelligence, outgoing personality, strong verbal skills, aggressiveness, understanding, and industriousness. Similarly, the high-high leader (high on both initiating structure and consideration) has been found to be consistent with attributions of what makes a good leader. That is, regardless of the situation, a high-high leadership style tends to be perceived as best. At the organizational level, the attribution framework accounts for the conditions under which people use leadership to explain organizational outcomes. Those conditions are extremes in organizational performance. When an organization has either extremely negative or extremely positive performance, people are prone to make leadership attributions to explain the performance. 2) Charismatic Leadership Theory: Charismatic leadership theory is an extension of attribution theory. It says that followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors. Studies on charismatic leadership have, for the most part, been directed at identifying those behaviors that differentiate charismatic leaders from their non-charismatic counterparts. Key Characteristics of Charismatic Leaders i) Self-Confidence: They have complete confidence in their judgment and ability. ii) Vision: This is an idealized goal that proposes a future better than the status quo. The greater the disparity between this idealized goal and the status quo, the more likely that followers will attribute extraordinary vision to the leader.

iii) Ability to Clear the Vision: They are able to clarify and state the vision in terms that are understandable to others. This articulation demonstrates an understanding of the followers needs and, hence, acts as a motivating force. iv) Strong Convictions about the Vision: Charismatic leaders are perceived as being strongly committed, and willing to take on high personal risk, incur high costs, and engage in self-sacrifice to achieve their vision.

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v) Behavior that is out of the Ordinary: Those with charisma engage in behavior that is perceived as being novel, unconventional, and counter to norms. When successful, these behaviors evoke surprise and admiration in followers. vi) Perceived as being a Change Agent: Charismatic leaders are perceived as agents of radical change rather than as caretakers of the status quo. vii) Environment Sensitivity: These leaders are able to make realistic assessments of the environmental constraints and resources needed to bring about change. 3) Transactional versus Transformational Leadership: Transactional leaders; these kinds of leaders guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. But there is another type of leader who inspires followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization, and who is capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on his or her followers. These are transformational leaders. They pay attention to the concerns and developmental needs of individual followers; they change followers awareness of issues by helping them look at old problems in new ways; and they are able to excite, arouse, and inspire followers to put out extra effort to achieve group goals. Characteristics of Transactional Leader i) ii) Contingent Reward: Contracts exchange of rewards for effort, promises rewards for good performance, recognizes accomplishments. Management by Exception (Active): Watches and searches for deviations from rules and standards, takes corrective action.

iii) Management by Exception (Passive): Intervenes only if standards are not met. iv) Laissez-Faire: Abdicates responsibilities, avoids making decisions. Characteristics of Transformational Leader i) ii) Charisma: Provides vision and sense of mission, instills pride, gains respect and trust. Inspiration: Communicates high expectations, uses symbols to focus efforts, and expresses important purposes in simple ways.

iii) Intellectual Stimulation: Promotes intelligence, rationality, and careful problem solving. iv) Individualized Consideration: Gives personal attention, treats each employee individually, coaches, and advises.