Leadership and Followership

Leadership in organizations is the process of guiding and directing the behavior of people in the work
environment.

In the first section, we discuss the ways that leadership differs from management.

We have two kinds of leadership

Formal Leadership is official sanctioned leadership based on the authority of a formal position.

Informal Leadership is unofficial leadership accorded to a person by other members of the organization.

Management

John Kotter describes leadership and management as two distinct yet complementary systems of action
in organizations. He believes that effective leadership produces useful change in organizations while
good management controls complexity in the organization and its environment.

The management process involves:

1. Planning and Budgeting

2. Organizing and staffing
3. Controlling and problem solving.

The management process reduces uncertainty and stabilizes an organization.

In contrast, the Leadership process involves:

1. Setting a direction for the organization

2. Aligning people with that direction through communication
3. Motivating people to action, partly through basic need gratification.

The leadership process creates uncertainty and change in an organization.

Effective leaders not only control the future of the organization but also act as enablers of change in
organization. They disturb existing pattern of behaviors, promote novel ideas, and help
organizational members make sense of the change process.

Although both leaders and managers make valuable contributions to an organization, their
contributions are different.

Leaders agitate for change and new approaches, while Managers advocate stability and the status
quo.

Leaders and mangers differ along four separate dimensions of personality: Attitudes towards goals,
Conceptions of work, Relationships with other people, and sense of self.

Early Trait Theories

The first studies of leadership attempted to identify what physical attributes, personality
characteristics and abilities distinguished leaders from other members of a group.
The physical attribute that were considered were Height, Weight, Physique, Energy, Health,
Appearance, and age.
Leaders personality characteristics that have been examined include Originality, Adaptability,
introversion-Extroversion, Dominance, Self-confidence, integrity, Conviction, mood optimism,
and Emotional control.

Behavioral theories
Behavioral theories emerged as a response to the deficiencies of the trait theories. Trait theories
attempted to tell us what leaders were like but didnt address how leaders behaved.

Foundational Behavioral Research

The earliest researcher on leadership style, conducted by Kurt Lewin and his students, identified
three basic styles; A leader uses one of these three basic style when approaching a group of
followers in a leadership situation.

Autocratic Style is a style of leadership in which the leader uses strong, directive actions to
control the rules, regulations, activities, and relationships in the work environment. Followers
have little discretionary influence over the nature of the work, its accomplishment, or other
aspects of the work environment.

Democratic Style is a style of leadership in which the leader uses interaction and collaboration
with followers to direct the work and work environment. Followers have a high degree of
discretionary influence, although the leader has ultimate authority and responsibility.

Laissez-faire style is a style of leadership in which the leader has a hands-off approach.

Initiating Structure is leader behavior aimed at defining and organizing work relationships and
roles as well as establishing clear pattern of organization, communication, and ways of getting
things done.

Consideration is leader behavior aimed at nurturing friendly, warm working relationships as well
as encouraging mutual trust and interpersonal respect within the work unit.

Leadership Grid: A Contemporary Extension

Leadership Grid Is an approach to understanding a leaders or managers concern for results
production and concern for people. Leadership Grid, originally called the Managerial Grid, was
developed with a focus on attitudes.

Organization Man Manager (5,5) is a middle-of-the-road leader who has a medium concern for
all people and production.

Authority-Compliance manager has great concern for production and little concern for people.
Country Club Manager is a leader who has great concern for people and little concern for
production, attempts to avoid conflict, and seek to be well liked.

Team Manager is a leader who build a highly productive team of committed people.

Impoverished Manager is a leader who exerts just enough effort to get by. They have little
concern for people or production, avoids talking sides, and stays out of conflicts.

Paternalistic father-knows-best manager promises reward for compliance and threatens

punishment for noncompliance.

The Opportunistic whats-in-it-for-me manager (OPP) is a leader who uses whichever style will
maximize self-benefit. It is important to highlight that the Grid evaluates the Team Manager as
the very best style of managerial behavior.

Contingency Theories
Contingency theories involve the belief that leadership style must be appropriate for the
particular situation. By their nature, contingency theories are If-then theories.

Fiedlers contingency Theory---of leadership proposes that the fit between the leaders need
structure and favorableness of the leaders situation determines the teams effectiveness in
work accomplishment.

Least preferred coworker (LPC) The person a leader has least preferred to work with.
Task Structure refers to the degree of charity, or ambiguity, in the work activities assigned to
the group.

Position Power refers to the authority associated with the leaders formal position in the
organization.

Leaders-member relations, the quality of interpersonal relationships among a leader and the
group members.
(Leadership Effectiveness In The Contingency Theories)

Situational Leadership Model, the situational leadership model, developed by Paul Hersey and
Kenneth Blanchard, suggests that the leadership behavior should be adjusted to the maturity
level