Robbins & Judge

Organizational Behavior
13th Edition

Basic
Basic Approaches
Approaches to
to
Leadership
Leadership
Bob Stretch
Southwestern College

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-1

Chapter
Chapter Learning
Learning Objectives
Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Define leadership and contrast leadership and management.
Summarize the conclusions of trait theories.
Identify the central tenets and main limitations of behavioral
theories.
Assess contingency theories of leadership by their level of support.
Contrast the interactive theories (path-goal and leader-member
exchange).
Identify the situational variables in the leader-participation model.
Show how U.S. managers might need to adjust their leadership
approaches in Brazil, France, Egypt, and China.

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-2

What
What Is
Is Leadership?
Leadership?
Leadership
The ability to influence a group
toward the achievement of goals

Management
Use of authority inherent in
designated formal rank to obtain
compliance from organizational
members

Both are necessary for

organizational success

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-3

Trait
Trait Theories
Theories of
of Leadership
Leadership
Theories that consider personality, social, physical, or
intellectual traits to differentiate leaders from
nonleaders
Not very useful until matched with the Big Five
Personality Framework
Leadership Traits

Extroversion
Conscientiousness
Openness
Emotional Intelligence (Qualified)

Traits can predict leadership, but they are better at

predicting leader emergence than effectiveness.
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12-4

Behavioral
Behavioral Theories
Theories of
of Leadership
Leadership
Theories proposing that specific behaviors differentiate
leaders from nonleaders
Differences between theories of leadership:
Trait theory: leadership is inherent, so we must identify the
leader based on his or her traits
Behavioral theory: leadership is a skill set and can be taught
to anyone, so we must identify the proper behaviors to teach
potential leaders

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-5

Important
Important Behavioral
Behavioral Studies
Studies
Ohio State University
Found two key dimensions of leader behavior:
Initiating structure the defining and structuring of roles
Consideration job relationships that reflect trust and respect
Both are important

University of Michigan
Also found two key dimensions of leader behavior:
Employee-oriented emphasizes interpersonal relationships
and is the most powerful dimension
Production-oriented emphasizes the technical aspects of the
job

The dimensions of the two studies are very similar

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-6

Blake
Blake and
and Moutons
Moutons Managerial
Managerial
Grid
Grid
Draws on both studies to
assess leadership style
Concern for People is
Consideration and
Employee-Orientation
Concern for Production
is Initiating Structure and
Production-Orientation

Style is determined by
position on the graph

E X H I B I T 12-1
E X H I B I T 12-1

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-7

Contingency
Contingency Theories
Theories
While trait and behavior theories do help us
understand leadership, an important component is
missing: the environment in which the leader exists
Contingency Theory deals with this additional aspect of
leadership effectiveness studies
Three key theories:
Fielders Model
Hersey and Blanchards Situational Leadership Theory
Path-Goal Theory

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-8

Fiedler
Fiedler Model
Model
Effective group performance depends on the proper
match between leadership style and the situation
Assumes that leadership style (based on orientation revealed
in LPC questionnaire) is fixed

Considers Three Situational Factors:

Leader-member relations: degree of confidence and trust in
the leader
Task structure: degree of structure in the jobs
Position power: leaders ability to hire, fire, and reward

For effective leadership: must change to a leader who fits

the situation or change the situational variables to fit the
current leader
2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-9

Graphic
Graphic Representation
Representation of
of Fiedlers
Fiedlers
Model
Model
Used to
determine
which type
of leader
to use in a
given
situation

E X H I B I T 12-2
E X H I B I T 12-2

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-10

Assessment
Assessment of
of Fiedlers
Fiedlers Model
Model
Positives:
Considerable evidence supports the model, especially if the
original eight situations are grouped into three

Problems:
The logic behind the LPC
scale is not well understood
LPC scores are not stable
Contingency variables are
complex and hard to
determine

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-11

Fiedlers
Fiedlers Cognitive
Cognitive Resource
Resource Theory
Theory
A refinement of Fiedlers original model:
Focuses on stress as the enemy of rationality and creator of
unfavorable conditions
A leaders intelligence and experience influence his or her
reaction to that stress

Research is supporting the theory.

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-12

Hersey
Hersey &
& Blanchards
Blanchards Situational
Situational
Leadership
Leadership
A model that focuses on follower readiness
Followers can accept or reject the leader
Effectiveness depends on the followers response to the
leaders actions
Readiness is the extent to which people have the ability
and willingness to accomplish a specific task

A paternal model:
As the child matures, the adult releases more and more
control over the situation
As the workers become more ready, the leader becomes
more laissez-faire

An intuitive model that does not get much support

from the research findings
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12-13

Houses
Houses Path-Goal
Path-Goal Theory
Theory
Builds from the Ohio State studies and the expectancy
theory of motivation
The Theory:
Leaders provide followers with information, support, and
resources to help them achieve their goals
Leaders help clarify the path to the workers goals
Leaders can display multiple leadership types

Four types of leaders:

Directive: focuses on the work to be done

Supportive: focuses on the well-being of the worker
Participative: consults with employees in decision-making
Achievement-Oriented: sets challenging goals

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-14

Path-Goal
Path-Goal Model
Model
Two classes of contingency variables:
Environmental are outside of employee control
Subordinate factors are internal to employee

Mixed support in the research findings

E X H I B I T 12-4
E X H I B I T 12-4

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-15

Leader-Member
Leader-Member Exchange
Exchange (LMX)
(LMX)
Theory
Theory
A response to the failing of contingency theories to
account for followers and heterogeneous leadership
approaches to individual workers
LMX Premise:
Because of time pressures, leaders form a special
relationship with a small group of followers: the in-group
This in-group is trusted and gets more time and attention
from the leader (more exchanges)
All other followers are in the out-group and get less of the
leaders attention and tend to have formal relationships with
the leader (fewer exchanges)
Leaders pick group members early in the relationship
2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-16

LMX
LMX Model
Model
How groups are assigned is unclear
Follower characteristics determine group membership

Leaders control by keeping favorites close

Research has been generally supportive

E X H I B I T 12-3
E X H I B I T 12-3

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-17

Yroom
Yroom and
and Yettons
Yettons Leader-Participation
Leader-Participation
Model
Model

How a leader makes decisions is as important as what is

decided
Premise:
Leader behaviors must adjust to reflect task structure
Normative model: tells leaders how participative to be in
their decision-making of a decision tree
Five leadership styles
Twelve contingency variables

Research testing for both original and modified models

has not been encouraging
Model is overly complex
E X H I B I T 12-5
E X H I B I T 12-5

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-18

Global
Global Implications
Implications
These leadership theories are primarily studied in
English-speaking countries
GLOBE does have some country-specific insights
Brazilian teams prefer leaders who are high in consideration,
participative, and have high LPC scores
French workers want a leader who is high on initiating
structure and task-oriented
Egyptian employees value team-oriented, participative
leadership, while keeping a high-power distance
Chinese workers may favor a moderately participative style

Leaders should take culture into account

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-19

Summary
Summary and
and Managerial
Managerial
Implications
Implications
Leadership is central to understanding group behavior
as the leader provides the direction
Extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness all show
consistent relationships to leadership
Behavioral approaches have narrowed leadership down
into two usable dimensions
Need to take into account the situational variables,
especially the impact of followers

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-20

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without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the
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Publishing as Prentice Hall