Leadership Styles and Theories- Lead 500

Dr. Ron Beach

Marisa Crawford Gray December 2010

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Abstract

This papers object is to look at the challenges facing the Workforce Development department at Kansas City Kansas Community College. The level of commitment from this department to the community as a provider of workplace skills and education. This paper will also evaluate the leadership styles and performances of an effective leader.

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Table of Contents

Abstract Table of Contents Introduction Background Information Purpose Leadership Styles and Theories Conclusion Reference

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Introduction The Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) is located in Kansas City, Kansas and is identified as an urban community college to serve the needs of citizens in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. The mission of KCKCC reads as follows: Kansas City Kansas Community College is a public, urban, open-door, and comprehensive community college committed to excellence in higher education. Through an accessible and supportive learning environment, the college mission is to provide higher education and lifelong learning to the varied communities, primarily in its service area of Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. KCKCC seeks to fulfill its mission by providing: An educational environment Transfer education Career education General education Continuing education Continuing education Developmental education Community services Education and support services Student support services

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A multicultural environment Administrative and institutional support services Activities A campus environment

Quick facts about KCKCC include: Total enrollment 7,465 Full-time 34% and part-time 55% Average age of the students being 30.4 years of age. Of the total population, 42.6% are minority (Center for Research & Community Development) The college is governed by elected officials from the community seven (7) Board of Trustees, with the Administration leadership being comprised of the President, Provost for Academic Affairs; Vice President for Financial and Administrative Services and eleven (11) deans. Background Information The Workforce Development department is located within the business division on the organizational chart. The Dean of Business and Continuing Education has the responsibility of leadership for Workforce Development. The current dean has been in this position since July, 2010. Prior to this administration, the position has experienced a change in leadership of 3 deans/directors over the past four years. Based on this inconsistent leadership, the Workforce Development department has been challenged

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to meet the goals identified in the colleges strategic plan. In addition, there have been internal struggles with leadership of the Board of Trustees identifying clear goals and expectations for the department. The mission of Workforce Development Department is to serve the training needs of emerging, current and returning workers, supports economic development, and is a resource for the college, employers and their employees. Wyandotte County, which is located in Kansas City, Kansas, has historically been challenged with a high unemployment rate. The community has a history of being a manufacturing area with the major employer being General Motors. In 2007, the Boart of Trustees advised the Workforce Development department to focus on economic development with the emphasis on training and development for the citizens of the serving areas. With current unemployment figures that continue to be in the double digits the leaders of the economic community have been aggressively recruiting new businesses into the area. With the success of these business creates new employment opportunities for the citizens in Wyandotte County. The challenge becomes getting them retrained with up-to-dates skills that match the needs of the industry. The primary challenge with the direction of focus requested from the BOT is the lack of physical and fiscal increase in the budget of the Workforce Development Department. The department has two full-time coordinators and no one identified to serve as a director for the area. There has been no clear definition of what success looks like for the department and specific strategy of how to reach the goal. In addition, morale is very low and because of the lack of leadership, current employees are left to

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set their own agenda in hopes of having something to provide to the BOT at the time of the year-end report. Purpose The purpose of this Gap Analysis is to understand what role the leadership of Business and Continuing Education was responsible for as the department strived to meet the directions of the Board of Trustees. The analysis will look at the various leadership styles and the impact of effectiveness of these styles in the workplace and the subordinates. It will also show the impact of the leadership style in the development of new and existing partnerships of the college. We will also look at the impact of the leader-follower relationship and how it affects productivity within the organization.

Leadership Styles and Theories Leadership can be defined as an interaction between two or more members of a group that often involves a structuring or restructuring of the situation and the perceptions and expectations of the members (Bass, 1990). While there is not one way to lead, it has been stated that leaders have to have followers in order to lead. Effective leaders serve as change agents and are a person who acts affects other people more than other peoples acts affect them, (Pierce & Newstrom, 2008). Over the course of time there have been many scholars that have shared their theories and research to define how leaders lead. The most effective leaders of the 21 st century seem to have these common traits: drive, the desire to lead, honesty and

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integrity, self confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business. In addition they have characteristics that include charisma, creativity and originality, and flexibility and adaptiveness (Kirkpatrick and Locke). The Dean of Business and Continuing Education in 2005, upon my arrival was an individual that had been in position for thirteen (13) years. Her leadership style could be identified as a combination of democratic and participative. As a woman, she was sometimes challenged with the task of leading a department that had 20 women and only 2 men. The office climate could range from very caring and supportive, to competitive and backbiting on any given week. As a democratic leader, this style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process. However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. It was the common practice of this leader to hold weekly meetings with department leaders allowing information to be shared of what the tasks were for the week and where support might be needed to accomplish any of these objectives. While the meetings were generally very informative and informal in nature, it was very easy for us to get off track and extend beyond the one hour allotted time frame on Monday mornings. Since many of the directors had been in their position for a number of years the dean also exhibited traits of the delegative style. With this style, the worker might often know more than the leader in certain areas. The leader is not expected to know everything, but has placed value in trusting that various team members will keep her informed on any decisions that need to be made. This also speaks to the leaders confidence level and her ability to share the power within the group for the overall good and productivity of the group.

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This leader also valued knowing her team members as an individual and finding out what was important to them. With the current budget cuts surrounding our economic times, she was creative in finding ways to reward her followers that did not include financial expenditures. She would take the time to research certain articles or presentations and then share the information with the staff in order to expand our knowledge with the expense of a conference. She was also aware of personal challenges or celebrations of the team. This helped to create a sense of family on the team. Because she was willing to share her power as a leader, as her follower, we were often inspired to find creative ways to bring value to the department. Celebrations within the department were also meaningful because they were personalized reflecting the task that had been completed. Toward the end of this deans leadership period there were signs that her reigns of authority had been limited by new management above her. The new Provost, which is who the dean reported to, was a very authoritarian or autocratic male leader. Traits of this style leadership include the leader wishes to have unquestioned author and power over their employees. They will tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished with getting advice or feedback from their followers. This would create conflict for the dean as a leader to have her supervisor to tell what and how a task was to be completed and then she be democratic and allowing input from her followers. Especially, on those projects where she exhibited delegative traits where she depended on others to carry out an assignment without her being there. If you ever want to see a group of women ban together, just have a leader who they support and feel that the leader has been wrongfully released of her leadership powers.

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The climate of the department quickly became an us vs him atmosphere in protection of their leader. The situation became so hostile for the dean that she became emotionally traumatized and left the organization of a medical leave. The long term effect of this type of atmosphere is erosion of trust and respect towards the organization. The replacement dean for the department happened to be female as well, but also was a pseudo-transformational leader. This style is very manipulative and at times condescending. Pseudo-transformation leaders, has unethical motives and values. Their behaviors might exhibit those of the transformational leader, but their interest is in self and becoming personal idols than caring for the benefits of those that follow them or those they serve. They are generally very good at communicating their beliefs and promoting their missions, but they motivate their followers through deception and false promises. Under the leadership of the pseudo-transformational leader, the department moral was rock bottom. Communication was one-way, instead of being gathered and shared amongst each other. The weekly Monday morning meetings and the monthly division meetings became sessions of information shared only by the dean without input from the department heads or followers involved with the projects. Even though you might be responsible for a particular project, during the meetings she would summarize what was happening and if you tried to add additional comments you were quickly dismissed with a quick thank you, now moving on. When there were examples of we it became very evident that we really meant I. Even our times of celebration were deceptive in nature because food was used as a way to buy or influence our support for her motives.

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In addition to the poor communication between team members, characteristics identified with the Leader Member Exchange (LMX) theory were also evident. There were some in-group members that were treated better than other outgroup members. The LMX theory looks at the unique relationship-based social exchange between leaders and members (Grains & Ul-Bien, 1995). As this strategy was played out in the department, unhealthy competition between the teams of inner circle and outer circle members became very obvious. The false perceptions that had been created because the two parties did not talk directly to each other eroded the departments trust and support of each other. It is important when operating with the LMX theory that the leader must be consistent and not hide things from members. The LMX theory is equity based. It was not until various team members starting asking questions to each other that the deans cover was blown. This type of leadership also had a negative effect on the image of department as we tried to maintain our relationships with our business community. As an organization that is commissioned to serve others, we have to be good listeners and show value of each other. What we experienced was business telling us what they needed and then being rejected by our leader because of her arrogance and condescending tone. It was more of an attitude of we know what is happening better than you do, so let us tell you what you need. Our client base dropped considerably, but it will be hard to prove that it was a lack of trust in our relationship and not a signor excuse of the economic times. This leader also had been known to rule by intimidation. While some of these traits can be identified as Autocratic, they also are very destructive in the workplace.

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When a leader uses their power to withhold information or praise from an employee or does not set clear goals or messages, then they run the risk of creating a hostile environment within the organization. Employees that work in a close small environment depend on trust and relationships within their teams. Many of the employees in this division had been together for an extended period of time and view each other as family. They have a passion for the work that must be done in the community and have an internal support system that is difficult to break. Once it was determined among the teams that the leader was not operating in the best interest of the department then help was sought from higher leadership. Thankfully, this leader was only in place for about 18 months before she was asked to resign by upper leadership. The next leader to be given the responsibility of dean for the division has the challenge of building morale between the department teams, damage control in the community with business clients, and reorganizing the department to better meet the needs and requirements as defined by the BOT. The leadership styles exhibited by this new leader are transformational. Transformational leadership has several characteristics (Bass, 1985): 1. Leaders communicate a clear vision 2. Leaders explain how vision can be achieved 3. Leaders show confidence in both vision and followers 4. Leaders lead by example 5. Leaders empower followers to work toward vision achievement

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When operating with the transformational leadership theory, there is an exchange of relationships between the leader and the follow. It focuses on the leader empowering the follower to work for the best interest of the organization to meet the goal. The leader builds a relationship with the follower and knows what rewards motivate them. Research supports the concept that there are four components of authentic transformational leadership characteristics: Idealized influence Inspirational motivational Intellectual stimulation and Individualized consideration (Bass and Steidlmeier, 1999)

Also important is for the transformational leader to be grounded in moral foundations. This leadership depends upon three pillars: The moral character of the leader; The ethical legitimacy of the values embedded in the leaders vision, articulation and program which the follower embraces or rejects; and The morality of the processes of social and ethical choices and action that the leaders and the followers engage in and collectively pursue, (Wren, 1998p Kouzes & Posner, 1993; Greenleaf, 1977 Conger and Kanungo (1998). Looking at the moral character of the new leader is something that can be seen at the surface level during the initial interview, but will not be verified until you are able to observe the leader in action. Yes the human resource department is able to check references and look at their background performances, but until a person is immersed

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into the environment and has to interact with others do you get a true sense of their values and core morals. Professionals today are trained to respond to what is expected as appropriate behavior. When interviews are limited to an hour, it is easy to for an individual role play and receive a passing grade. To address this issue, perhaps during the interview process, the interviewee could be taken through a number of skilled scenarios to get a feel of their response. The new dean has been in the position since July, 2010. He has been given a very challenging task of learning how to balance two departments, lead 40 plus full-time employees and respond to the BOT request to focus on workforce development in the service area communities. Since he came from an academic setting he is familiar with the responsibilities associated with running a division. The challenge for him has been learning the climate of the institution. Over 75% of the employees at KCKCC have been with the institution for 20 years plus. The president has been affiliated with the college for over 25 years. The BOT has members that have been on the board for 18 plus years. So change happens very slowly at KCKCC. Ironically there was a survey done by the BOT for the community to respond to and make recommendations in the spring of 2010. The number one statement was the college was not visible enough in the community. We are here but we are not a fixture in the community that businesses and individual community citizens consider as a first point of contact for resource needs. In addition, the new dean is not a resident of this community, so learning the political climate of the city and local businesses is also a new learning curb for him. Wyandotte County has a 51% minority population rate that is primarily Hispanic and African American. We happen to have the most diverse ethnic backgrounds of polish,

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Hmong, and Asian for this part of the metropolitan area. We also have a 65% senior population that is 55 plus years of age and older. Wyandotte County is considered to be one of the most diverse populations and also one of the most closed communities. They value the home grown factor. This being said, it will take the new dean a series of just attending community gatherings so that people get accustomed to seeing his face before they respond with a great deal of trust. According to research conducted over a 25 year span, the following open-ended question: What values, personal traits, or characteristics do you look for and admire in a leader? was asked in a survey of thousands of business and government executives, (Kouzes & Posner, p 28). The results have been consistent over time with the top responses being: Honest- a person that knows right from wrong. Honesty is strongly tied to values and ethics (Kouzes & Posner, p 33). Forward-looking- leaders must know where theyre going if they expect others to willingly join them on the journey. Their ability to imagine or discover a desirable destination toward which the company, agency, congregation, or community should head, (Kouzes & Posner, p 33) Inspiring- leaders must be enthusiastic, energetic, and positive about the future. They must be able to uplift their constituents spirits and give them hope, or breathe life into peoples dreams and aspirations. Their ability to speak to the needs of their constituents or followers to have meaning and purpose, (Kouzes & Posner, p 34).

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Competent leaders must have relevant experience and sound judgment enough to guide individuals where they are headed (Kouzes & Posner, p 35).

To his credit, the new dean is a good listener and has a very humanistic spirit. He is very methodical with his approach to change and has been very cautious about suggesting any radical changes thus far. He is willing to share a vision that he is putting together based on collaboration of his followers. Transformational Leader Transformational leaders also have charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass 185, 1998; Bass & Avolio, 1993). They have a deep rooted respect for others and are concerned about the good that can be achieved for the group organization or society that they are responsible for. They are open in their leadership style that transforms to a spirit of altruism and willingness for others. More importantly, they believe in developing their followers into leaders. Situational Leadership While there is no one best leadership style, this leader has the knowledge to operate using situational leadership traits. Situational Leadership models are based on three factors: 1. The amount of guidance and direction a leader gives 2. The amount of socio-emotional support a leader provides; and

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3. The readiness level that followers exhibit in performing a specific task, function or objective. The new dean has a very humanistic approach to dealing with people in the division and the Workforce Development Department. He has not been grounded in the academic world very long, which is a big plus for him. Coming into the college, his challenge was to focus on workforce development and providing services for both citizens and business in our service area. Since he is not from this area, he has taken the time to actually learn about the community. This has been a change in leadership style for the department. The previous leaders were not public workforce friendly. They were so heavily influenced in the academic way of life that working beyond the walls of the college was often operating out of their comfort zone. The new dean, at times he is over zealous in getting out and meeting companies to the point that it becomes offensive to the team. We have had to adapt our approach, which has not been very aggressive in the past. He has taken the time to help the department develop a plan that compliments the overall strategic plan for the college. Everything we do now can be correlated to supporting the mission. His leadership style is non-threatening and inspires you to want to dig a little deeper with your pre-research and then find other ways to connect the company with the college. One of the new projects for our department was a grant from the Department of Labor to provide entry level training for individuals interested in hospitality and retail careers. Using this project as a means of helping to create additional visibility for the college in the community has been a challenge. While the upper leadership is aware of

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the program, there is little support in making sure that key players are involved when it comes to publicity. The previous dean did not see the value in the program to the community and elected to alter the information that had been submitted for approval. Prior to the new dean coming on board, our department had the responsibility of learning the requirements of the grant and completing the necessary reports. The new dean, having experience with DOL grants has been very instrumental in helping to make sure we stay on task and find cost effective ways to meet the requirements. His is very supportive and is interested in making sure that we find ways to meet our personal goals while completing this project. The Leader-Follower Relationship If you look at the number of leadership programs that outnumber programs designed to help with followership, one might believe that everyone is training and should be a leader. Leadership has been glorified and many leaders are placed on a pedestal without just cause. Reality is, not everyone desiring to be a leader should lead. There are significantly more followers than leaders in todays society. Building relationships between leaders and followers requires trust. An effective leader is willing to open himself up and find ways to not only share the power, but also to show to others where areas of support are needed. They have to model the way of what they want the relationship to look like. Through their modeling, they are showing what their values and beliefs are and they are not afraid to put a voice to them. Their passion for the cause shows and they are prepared to align values together to show strength.

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As the project manager, I have the opportunity to work very closely with the new dean. In fact, he has inspired me to branch out and be more assertive as a new leader. He is willing to provide advise without intimidation by using the what if approach. As a new leader he has taken the time to listen not only to the employees he is working with, but also with higher administration. He is determined to be a change agent for the organization, in spite of economic types. He has also looked at the colleges strategic plan and tried to set objectives that will compliment the goals needed. He is willing to listen to others, even when he may not agree with what is being said. He also is willing to go out and meet with public to hear what they need. This interaction takes place with businesses as well as with community members. Conclusion In conclusion, being an effective leader requires more than a title or position name. It is about being inextricably connected with the process of innovation of bringing new ideas, methods and solutions, (Kouzes & Posner p 165). An effective leader is sensitive to external realities, they need listening skills and have the promote communication. They have the ability to inspire others to let the ideas flow freely yet challenge their followers often to ask questions and treat every job as an adventure. As they work with the followers, an effective leader has the ability to generate small wins and progress step by step with challenging projects, because they produce results toward success. As they create a climate for learning, they promote a spirit of inquiry and openness, patience and forgiveness. They never forget that they too are active learners. Effective leaders understand that leadership is not a solo act; its a team effort (Kouzes & Posner, p 223). Their goal is to create a climate of trust, because without it

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you cannot lead. A true leader has to show trust to build trust. That was the challenge with the previous Dean, the trust had been broken within the group and relationships had been compromised. Being an effective leader takes work, but the results can be so rewarding for the team. As a leader strengthens others, they help to help to create a climate where people are engaged and feel in control and accountable. They increase the followers belief in their own ability to make a difference, learn new skills and develop new talents. In the end, they help to turn their followers into leaders.

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References: Ciulla, Joanne B., Ethics, The Heart of Leadership. 2004. 2nd Edition, Praeger Publishers, Westport CT Dickson, Robert, Culturing personal leadership, CMA Magazine; Feb 95, Vol 69 Issue 1, p10, 5p. Grayson, Don & Speckhart, Ryan, The Leader-Follower Relationship: Practitioner observations. Leadership Advance online-Issue VI Winter 2006 Kouzes, James M. & Posner, Barry Z., (2007) The Leadership Challenge. 4th Edition, Jossey-Bass, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Phillips, Antionette S., and Bedian, Arthur G., Leader-follower exchange quality: The role of personal and interpersonal attributes. Academy of Management Journal; Aug 94, Vol 37, Issue 4, p 990. Pierce, Jon L. & Newstrom, John W. (2008). Leaders & The Leadership Process. 5th Edition, McGrill-Hill Irwin Stage Roberts, Betty and Dean, Mahnaz A., Leadership in the 21st Century-Unchartered Waters or Same Drip. PA Times; Jul 2000, Vol 23 Issue 7, Leadership p 4, 2/3p